Breathe the Free Air
by Cazzy20
Summary: New town, new friends, new life, free air.
1. Chapter 1

**All characters etc belong to S Meyer. I am just playing with them.**

**Enjoy.**

As Bella looked out of the train window at the rolling hills of the Lake District and Pennines she finally felt like she could breathe at last. The hills weren't the imposing, majestic mountains of home, and she was grateful for that. They were beautiful none the less, rolling hills with crags and gorges and very few trees. There was green but not the dark, mossy green of Forks, this green was bright and fresh. It made her feel alive, it was invigorating. Taking deep breaths Bella tried to get as much air into her lungs as possible, revelling in the slight burn she felt. It was wonderful to feel so free and unencumbered. To breathe the free air at last. She smiled to herself as she watched this new world pass by. This truly was the first day of the rest of her life.

The last year had been the worst. More than the worst it had been horrendous. At times she had wanted to just give in an let the sorrow swallow her whole. But something had kept her fighting, kept her moving forward. Just under twelve month ago Edward had left her. She had been heartbroken, she had wallowed in self-pity and now felt such a fool. She had wasted precious time she could never get back. The new year had come and with it an epiphany. She had allowed that spoiled, selfish child to keep hurting her for months, long after he left. She had realised what an idiot she was being. Thanks to Jacob's help she had moved on from it and started to live again. They had become firm friends, he was her brother in all but blood. She had picked herself up, dusted herself down and realised enough really was enough. Edward had controlled her for far too long. No more.

However when three months later her dad had been killed by a drunk driver she had almost fallen apart again. Unable to bear the sorrow and loneliness as well as guilt. Guilt for all the months she lost with him by being a fool, and guilt that he was on his way to pick her up from a Res party when he was killed. She had been drinking and couldn't drive home. He had just finished his shift when she called and explained, telling him she would crash at Sam and Emily's. Charlie hadn't minded that she was drunk. He was pleased she had sense not to drive, he had volunteered to pick her up as he would be passing that way any way. The deputy turned up an hour later. It had been a head on collision just outside of Forks, about fifteen minutes after they had spoken. The other driver had veered across towards her father's patrol car. Her dad had died instantly, as did the drunk, Mike Newton.

The funeral was attended by just about the whole town and most of the Res. Both Billy and Harry had delivered eulogies. It had been immensely touching and humbling to see how loved and respected her father had been. Even Mr and Mrs Newton, devastated by their own loss and guilt that their son had caused someone else's death they stood at the back of the church trying to hide. Bella had spoken to them, she didn't blame them, Mike had made his own choices. Her mother had not come. Not able to get there as she and Phil were on vacation in Hawaii. That was her reason but Bella knew it was really that she just couldn't be bothered. Finally seeing her mother for what she was, a selfish, immature woman, Bella had accepted the excuse without question. She accepted it might be uncomfortable for Renee to come to her ex-husbands funeral but surely a mother would want to support her only daughter when she was needed the most.

There was also no sign of the Cullen's at the funeral. Bella had half hoped someone would show up but they never did. Furious with herself for hoping and then for being hurt again. Bella vowed it would be the last time. No more.

"It'll be as though we never existed" Edward had said. Right then Bella wished with her whole heart that they did not exist. She would never forgive them for abandoning her. She would never forgive her so called 'family' for the pain they had caused. Her 'sister', Bella scoffed at that, may not have seen the accident but she must surely have seen the aftermath. The family had to have known her dad was dead but they made no contact. It did not take Bella long to get over their absence again. She had friends.

She did not however go to Mikes quiet funeral the next day. She couldn't bring herself to attend. She felt bad for his parents but Bella doubted she would ever be able to forgive him.

That had been her lowest point but the pack and friends from school had been great. They had kept her going and supported her completely. She had picked herself up again. Determined to make her father proud and thrown herself back into her school work. She had graduated with flying colours and her choice of university including an offer from Dartmouth, which was strange as she didn't remember applying there.

Instead she had decided she needed a completely fresh start, with no ghosts to haunt her and no expectations on her. So she had transferred her Dartmouth acceptance to Durham University in England and started packing. Thanks to a life insurance policy and pension from her Dad she was comfortably well off. Bella had rented her house to Jake and Jessica, who he had imprinted on at Charlie's funeral. It had made Bella almost laugh. She was happy for them. They moved so quickly it made Bella's head spin. As soon as she had announced her move they had asked to rent Charlie's house. They were going to buy it when they were sorted, but Bella was in no rush. They could take as long as necessary because she had no intention of ever going back. While she loved her friends and would miss them terribly there were just too many bad memories in Forks.

The scenery as she passed through was breath-taking. She had asked when she booked her tickets for a scenic route and while it was longer and involved two changes, it certainly did not disappoint. One of the changes was at a place called Carlisle which made Bella laugh for some reason. She felt it was worth it. It was the middle of august and the rolling hills were covered in purple heather and yellow gorse. The grass was bright, emerald green, dotted with white sheep. There were stone walls and farms scattered about. All of them looking like they had been there centuries. The whole scene looked washed clean and fresh. It seemed symbolic to Bella, this was her fresh start. Her old life was left behind her. She was free.

Free from interference, control and restrictions. No Edward to tell her what to do and if she disagreed to dazzle her into submission. No Jake trying to look after her and help, regardless of her need for space. No pack shadowing her every move to keep her safe from a psychotic, redheaded vampire hell bent on mis-placed revenge. And sadly no Dad to answer to.

Her mother too was out of the picture following a massive row a week after the funeral when she had finally got in touch again to ask how Bella was. They had argued about money. Renee insisting Bella hand over her inheritance because "I raised you for him, He owes me" Bella had promptly told her mother to shove it, that her father owed her nothing and neither did she. She had practically had to raise herself and now here was Renee screaming about her dues. Bella could hardly believe what she was hearing but instantly resolved to hear no more. She hung up and promptly changed her mobile number and e-mail address. She had not spoken to Renee since and would probably never contact her again. Bella found it very hard to forgive her mother's selfishness and knew that she would never change. Only Jake, Emily and Angela Weber could contact her now. Bella was thrilled with that fact. They certainly wouldn't be passing the information on to anyone. She hadn't even told her mom where she was going. There was no room in her new life for that kind of baggage. Her mother was history. Being free of her overbearing and childish mother felt to Bella like she had walked out of a prison, free at last. She never really understood how much Renee's dependency had weighed on her but she would never let herself be so oppressed again. No more.

She was also completely vampire free thanks to the pack. That was something she would never cease to be grateful for. Victoria had finally been cornered and destroyed about a month after her father had died. She had led them a merry dance for months and two of the pack, Seth and Embry had gotten badly hurt. They had healed eventually and with no further vampire activity in the area no more kids had phased. The pack finally seemed free to re-start their lives as well.

At last it was truly over, she really was clear to start over with no baggage, nothing to hold her back, no body to stop her, no body controlling her life. She started to laugh quietly to herself, she had to be quiet as the other people on the train would think her odd. It was a laugh of release. Bella was looking forward to the future with an excitement she had never known before. She had a future to plan now and a life to live, she was determined, she was going to live it to the full.

After several hours the train arrived at Durham station. The station was situated on the top of a hill giving an impressive view of the city. She had of course done her research but that didn't really prepare her for her first view. It took her breath away.

The ancient, medieval cathedral and castle standing out against the skyline. The twisting, meandering streets lined with shops and houses leading down to the river. She could see lots of people moving around, but there was still space. There were boats on the river and people walking alongside. Everywhere was movement but there was no sense of haste. The place felt old, steeped in history and was exactly what she had hoped for.

"Wow" she thought excitedly. "This is going to be great."

A short taxi ride brought her to the flat she had decided to rent for the three/four year course. Bella had chosen against student accommodation, preferring to keep her privacy and space. She had gone for a furnished, two bedroomed flat above a shop in the city centre but close to the campus and one of the university colleges that held some student accommodation. Getting the best of both worlds was what she was hoping for. She wanted to be able be a student but have the independence of living separately.

The flat itself was warm and welcoming, decorated in warm terracotta shades with cream carpets, curtains and furniture and had a large window letting in lots of light. The colour theme continued throughout the flat and into the bedrooms. Her bedroom held a queen-sized bed, large skylight and surprisingly lots of space. The second bedroom had a three quarter bed and small dresser with a skylight in the ceiling to let in light, it was neat, tidy and cosy. Bella doubted she would have guests bit if she did it was more than suitable for the purpose. The kitchen was bright and clean with shiny chrome appliances, a cream marble counter top and pine cupboard doors. It also had another good sized window. The bathroom was a pristine, white suite, with chrome taps and a glass shower stall. The flat had been refurbished before Bella took the lease and she was the first person to live there. It already felt like home, it was cosy and cheerful and Bella was delighted.

Unable to wait any longer Bella decided to unpack later and go out to buy food and explore. As she walked through the cobbled streets, soaking up the atmosphere, she could feel the relaxed air to the place. Durham was a city but small by most standards. It was certainly a lot smaller than she was used to. And yet there was a vibrancy in the streets that was compelling. The place felt alive and effervescent and it confirmed in her mind that this was the right choice. All around her was the past and yet there was a feeling of moving forward. While Bella was studying English major, her decision to minor in History was based in no small part on the place she was already certain was home.

Bella was determined to enjoy student life, her flat was close to several pubs that the estate agent told her were frequented by students. There was also a college nearby that had halls of residence. The main campus was about a fifteen minute walk and one of the best nightclubs in town (according to the estate agent) was round the corner, apparently she could get drunk, fall over twice and be home. She had to admit that sounded like fun. There were restaurant's in quiet corners as well theatres and a cinema. No mall like she had at home, but a small 'shopping centre', and quaint, tiny shops crammed into narrow streets as well as an indoor market that was like an Aladdin's cave of goodies.

Bella had travel plans that were waiting to be finalised once her timetable was confirmed. She wanted to see the whole country and had decided to have weekend excursions at least once a month with longer breaks in the school holidays. There was a need in her to learn as much as possible. For the time being though she had almost two months before classes started. More than enough time for her to get to know the area and learn her way around. The flat she was renting had a reserved parking space she could use so Bella was debating whether to buy a car. The thought of driving on the wrong side of the road did worry her a little but she figured she could find someone to give her a few lessons or something. For the first time she felt like she had time. No need to rush into anything. She didn't have to decide anything today or even tomorrow. She could relax, take it easy and enjoy.

Bella couldn't really remember the last time she had felt like that. The months following Charlie's funeral had been crammed with studies, exams and plan making. Lawyers and estate agents had been the people she had spoken to most. Not that she had shut people out per se, but no one knew what to say to her and knowing that when she left she wouldn't be back, Bella felt no need to cultivate friendships anymore. Only the people she truly loved did she have time for. Jacob, Angela and Emily. The pack were her family, they had been by her side throughout, supporting, helping and making her smile. Jacob would always be her sun, he made her feel warm and safe, something only her father had ever done. Angela and Emily were just quiet presences in the background, always there and always caring. In truth Bella didn't know what she would have done without them, She hoped that one day she could repay their kindness. If there was a way Bella was determined to find it.

Returning to the flat, arms laden with groceries, she was tired but happy and filled with an anticipation of what tomorrow might bring. Bella decided to order pizza. The landlord had left several take away menus for her so she had plenty of choice. Showering quickly and putting on her favourite pyjama's she settled in with a glass of wine and a DVD. The fact that the legal drinking age was eighteen was something Bella found both unusual and welcoming. The lure of a bottle of wine, with her groceries was something she had found hard to resist on this occasion. Just because she could, besides weren't all students supposed to be party animals. Chuckling wryly she thought about that. Not a party animal perhaps but determined to have fun.

The next few days passed in a blur of activity. Unpacking, getting the flat how she wanted it. Putting pictures up, she had photos of everyone from back home, even a really arty looking picture of a couple of wolves coming out of the trees, it was soft focus with the background blurry giving the untrained eye the wrong impression of size. She even put up a picture of her mother. She did love her, just didn't like her very much and if the truth be told, didn't miss her at all.

The days merged seamlessly into weeks. She spent ages just wandering around, getting used to the place, the atmosphere and area. She visited the campus a couple of times, getting acquainted with the layout of the university. Bella spent hours perusing book shops, music and DVD stores as well as buying clothes. Bella had actually brought very little with her, preferring instead to buy new, in keeping with her fresh start. While she did re-buy some of her old favourites in books, movies and music. She branched out in new directions, trying new things. This was partly to dispel old memories but also to broaden her horizons, even if in a small way. It gave her a sense of achievement and pride.

Her clothing choices branched out as well, tighter clothes and small heels made their way into her wardrobe. As did more feminine tops and some dresses, it was summer after all. She even treated herself to some sexy lingerie. Laughing at the thought of someone other than herself seeing them, wondering what the guy would be like. The underwear might be too old to be shown by the time she got the chance but still it didn't hurt to be prepared.

Bella also splurged on a car, a two year old, red Mini. She wanted the extra independence of having a car but not a great huge thing like her beloved truck. Again she had wanted something different and the little run around was just the job.

In what felt like the blink on an eye it was October and time for classes to start. Bella eagerly walked to the campus on her first morning with the hundreds of other students all there for 'fresher's week'. She was excited. The time had come to begin the rest of her life and she couldn't be happier.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow. Thanks for all the reviews. The response I have had to this story has been great.**

**Enjoy.**

Two and a half years had passed since arriving in the UK and to Bella it felt as though she had been there forever and yet no time at all. University had been everything she had hoped it would be. The classes were interesting, she was enjoying learning and had made many friends among her classmates. She had thrived, she loved the place, she loved the people and she loved her life. Now in her final year of her degree she was no longer the shy, reserved but excited eighteen year old that had arrived on the plane. Having grown up emotionally Bella had grown into herself, she was confident, vivacious and happy. She was popular with her university peers and staff as well as her neighbours.

Bella had grown physically as well, she was taller, still slender but with a more mature shape. She no longer stumbled and tripped over air, she was also frequently seen in high heels. She had an air of self-assurance and confidence which was attractive, garnering quite a lot of attention from the opposite sex. Looks wise Bella hadn't changed a great deal. She still had the long, dark brown hair, it was just cut more fashionably. She just looked more comfortable in herself, a little more mature perhaps, settled. She had pierced ears (twice), and belly button and a tattoo on the small of her back.

Getting those done had been an experience, finally after months of psyching herself up to it she had gone into a shop to enquire. The girl who dealt with piercings looked Bella up and down and smiled. She had long black hair with purple tips. Black eye makeup, lipstick and nail varnish. She wore black jeans and a black t-shirt with black Docs. A ring through her nose, eyebrow, and tongue. Yet her green eyes were warm and friendly as was her smile. After Bella explained what she wanted and how she reacted to blood the girl, 'Becky', laughed and told her to go to the chemists and buy some 'VICKS' then come back. Confused Bella had done so. Upon returning to the salon Becky had opened the jar and put some of the menthol rub under Bella's nose.

"There you go, can't smell the blood now. I do it all time when I have to clean up sick." Becky had cheerfully announced while marking the spot on Bella's ears. They had become firm friends after that, Becky had done her ears again and the belly button. Becky had introduced her to the joys of going out "on the lash", something Bella found she very much enjoyed, and could often be found in Bella's spare bed, hung-over on a Sunday morning after another good night out around town. She had also recommended a tattooist when Bella finally decided to go for that as well.

The tattoo was special to Bella, it was simple Latin text in a cursive script. It read:

_Liberum aerem spiramus_

Breathe the free air.

Bella felt that that was what she did every day. Since leaving Forks and cutting her mother loose, it was as though the weight of the world had lifted from her shoulders. Bella was in no hurry to bear that burden again.

In the last two years she had travelled widely. Following her intention to see everything she had gone on weekend excursions all over the UK. She loved Scotland and the Lake District. London and Edinburgh were also hit. She loved the castles that could be found almost everywhere, scrambling over the ruins and walking slowly round the rooms of those still standing. She visited churches, cathedrals, museums and forests. In essence as much as possible.

This Christmas however had led her back to Forks for the first time since leaving. Jake and Jess were getting married so she had to attend. She had really enjoyed the visit and seeing everyone again but was pleased to leave. The sad but true fact was that Forks just didn't feel like home any more.

Over the years Angela had visited a couple of times but that was all. She phoned Emily and Jake about once a month, they e-mailed more. As for her mother or the Cullen's she had heard nothing. Jess had said that someone had called the house a couple of times to ask for Bella but they just hung up when told she had moved. No one ever mentioned where Bella was and she was grateful for that. It did feel a little like she was hiding sometimes but on the whole it felt like she had just made a clean break and cut the shit from her life.

Tonight was Bella's first night out since returning to the UK. She was meeting Becky and some other friends at seven in a pub around the corner. She was looking forward to letting her hair down. The last weeks had been great but a little too heavy, lots of emotion. She exited her flat to walk to the pub while munching on a bar of chocolate. Becky had introduced her to English chocolate as well. It was, in Bella's humble opinion, orgasmic. She admitted to herself she ate quite a lot.

"Must be all the sex that keeps me slim" she thought with a wry chuckle as she walked to the pub. She had had a couple of boyfriends that didn't keep her interest long and a couple of one nighters, but no one had really captured her attention. Shelving the depressing thought of her almost non-existent sex life Bella glanced skyward and noticed the full moon. It was the first full moon of the year. The Wolf Moon. That always made Bella smile, she had discovered the fact in some random internet search she had done for an essay a couple of years ago. The Wolf Moon always felt special to Bella, it reminded her of the pack and somehow made her feel close to them. It was a nice, warm feeling.

Alistair walked grumpily along in the shadows of a random street in the latest town he was passing through. He was always grumpy these days. He remembered when he used to smile, when he felt joy and happiness. But it had been a long time since anything made him smile with joy. He had spent over seven hundred years wandering the earth and this country in particular. He almost prided himself in his disinterest. He no longer cared where he was, what he did or who he ate. Well, no that wasn't quite true. He went where he was drawn, his gift guiding him where ever he was needed. He could direct it if he chose, to find someone but he rarely bothered. He simply wished to stay away from other vampires most of the time and his gift allowed him to do that easily. He had very few friends within the vampire world and that was just the way he liked it. Thinking about it he supposed that Carlisle Cullen would be considered his closest friend and he hadn't seen him in years. The last time Carlisle had had that irritating brat of a son with him. Alistair hated that boy on sight. He was a self-important little prick, who deserved to lose his head. He got on ok with the rest of the 'family' usually but Edward grated on his nerves.

As for what he ate, he never, under any circumstances ate children. His one redeeming feature, or so he felt. Perhaps it was the centuries of being alone that had turned him into an uncaring, unfeeling creature of the night. Or perhaps that was just his way. No wrong again, he had cared once, He had been loyal and would have died for his beliefs. But that was long, long ago, now he only believed in staying alive.

Thinking of the past made him even grumpier. It served no purpose and did no good at all. Yet for some reason his thoughts had been in the past almost constantly for the last few days. It infuriated him that he couldn't control his own thoughts. He snarled and in a fit of petulance that would put a child to shame, flicked a stone on the path with his foot. It pinged away straight through a shop window a couple of hundred yards ahead.

"Shit"

Looking around he noticed no security cameras so he shot off in the opposite direction. Rolling his eyes heavenward he berated himself angrily. As his eyes looked toward the sky he noticed the moon. The Wolf Moon. He could remember growing up in his village and listening to the wolves howl at night. The eerie, chilling sound they made. He shook himself out of his reminiscences. It doesn't do to dwell on the past. His village, family, even the wolves were long dead.

Scowling up at the sky Alistair walked onwards, his mood not improved by the rhythmical thumping of the music coming from a nearby nightclub. He hated modern music. He hated the writhing sea of people he found in nightclubs. When watching the dancers it seemed the only way you could get closer to your partner was to take their clothes off, and one regularly led to the other he found. It made hunting easier though. The lights hid his eyes, alcohol made them not notice his skin and drunken fools often had accidents.

Feeling that this was as good a place as anywhere to get a meal he decided to go in. After watching the humans entering the club for a few minutes he checked his reflection in a shop window. His eyes were black enough to get away with, his hair messy but not too bad. His clothes didn't look too scruffy he thought. Not quite as polished as the other males entering the place. But he didn't care. He didn't need to preen and strut like a peacock. But then again he wasn't trying to impress a prospective mate. He was simply himself, take it or leave it.

Without giving them a glance he walked past the bouncers and into the club. It was heaving, filled with wall to wall gyrating humans in varying states of intoxication.

"Easy pickings" he thought to himself as he slowly made his way around the crowded dance floor to lean against the wall in a darker corner, to find a prospective meal.

Bella had been dancing with her friends for hours, when she spotted him. She had seen vampires before of course, other than the Cullen's, twice since leaving forks. Both times in London when she had seen one in the store she was in. In all honesty now she knew about them, they were difficult to miss. Stupidly attractive, pale, very often with sunglasses on, Red eyes stood out to much she supposed. This one was about six foot, maybe just under. He was incredibly attractive, with messy dark blond hair and stubble. He looked like he had been living in a field for a week before he was turned. His clothes were untidy, in fact his whole appearance was scruffy. It made her chuckle, she could suddenly see Alice's horror and insisting on giving him a makeover. To Bella he looked sexy and dangerous, a bit like the blond guy from that TV show with the dragons and sex Becky liked so much, game of something. Looking at his eyes she saw they were dark, he either had contacts in or was thirsty, her instincts told her thirsty.

Bella looked around the club, someone here was going to die tonight of that she was certain. Surprisingly the thought didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. Obviously she didn't want it to be one of her friends but she knew there was little or nothing she could do to stop him if he decided on one of them. Then an idea occurred to her.

"I could get him to go for me." She mused.

Then she realised " I must be drunker than I think because that was the stupidest, bloody idea, in the history of stupid bloody ideas." At least she had some idea of self-preservation then. Going back to her friends she decided not to worry about it. She was going to have fun, dance, flirt and get another round in.

Alistair saw the sea of humans as most people see a take away menu. He was taking his time before placing his order. He didn't know what he fancied yet. Then he saw her. Brunette, slender, beautiful, well for a human. Maybe he would get dinner and desert. Although he did tend to enjoy the desert first. It was rare that a human female survived a night with him. He would like to claim it was his prowess between the sheets that killed them, but no. He usually just lost control and drained them. Making his way back around the dance floor he followed her to the bar, catching a whiff of her scent along the way. It was mouth-watering, so good in fact he doubted he would get desert. It wasn't that Alistair couldn't control himself. He actually had very good control, he could even stop himself feeding if he so chose. He just never chose to. Why should he?

He watched the girl buy drinks then head back to her friends. He watched her knock a shot back then move to writhe against some boy on the dance floor. He could see the boy she was dancing with struggling to control himself. He would probably have to head off to the toilet in a bit to relieve himself. Alistair chuckled at that thought. Boys today. No staying power. A while later the boy adjusted himself, breathed deeply and headed off to the bar instead.

"Mmm. Got that wrong." Alistair thought. Human watching was one of his favourite pastimes. He liked to watch them interact and play their little games. The cheating spouse was so easy to spot, even when they thought they were so clever. The love struck, best friend and the oblivious other friend. Sometimes he wanted to knock their heads together. That would make something of a mess though. Watching the humans scurrying about in their own little worlds was fascinating and to him endlessly entertaining. It appeared that tonight he was getting dinner, desert and a show. Sitting on a stool at the end of the bar and ordering a double scotch whisky he settled down to watch the entertainment unfold.

Bella was getting more and more drunk. Becky was plastered so she had decided to go home about fifteen minutes ago. A couple of the others had left with her. Bella tried to subtly look around and see if the vampire was still there. At first she couldn't see him and started to worry, what if he was waiting outside for her friends. Moving toward the bar she saw him and breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't after Becky at least. Saying bye to her remaining friends as they left, she decided to have one more for the road.

"Rum and coke please" Bella asked the girl behind the bar as she stepped up next to the vampire. Looking at him out of the corner of her eye she could see he was rugged, very handsome and incredibly sexy. He looked mature, maybe thirty or so. But there was a rawness, a wildness that had her almost melting on the spot. Bella never thought that she went for bad boys. They were Becky's province. Becky always teased her that she liked the pretty boys who cared more about how their hair looked than whether she had an orgasm or not.

"Maybe that's why my sex life was so dissatisfying." Bella thought briefly then looked at the vampire again. Her heart jumped into her mouth. Her throat ran dry and she started to pant. Was she drooling? This was a bad, bad man and she was knicker wettingly attracted to him in a way she had never been attracted to anyone before.

"I'll get that." She heard in a soft Scottish accent as the girl handed her the drink.

"Thanks" Bella said with what she hoped was a warm, confident smile. She hoped he didn't have some freaky gift like Edward and could read her mind.

"Alistair." He said with a smile. His nostrils flared imperceptibly. She was turned on. This was going to be so easy.

"Humans" he thought with a fond smile. "So easy to charm."

"I'm Isabella" She said with a smile. Not really sure why she gave her full name.

"American? " He asked.

"Afraid so." Bella answered with a chuckle. "I consider here home though. I've been here over two years now and don't want to leave."

"What the hell am I telling him all that for?" Bella thought furiously to herself. "He will think I am a blithering idiot." She could feel herself blushing.

Alistair smiled at her. She was more drunk than she realised. This would take hardly any effort at all. The blush was charming though, it made her scent even more potent. He could just imagine her with that flush everywhere, spread out for him on a bed. He took a long sniff. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. Fuck she smelled good.

As she reached for her drink he caught a glimpse of something on her arm that would have made his heart stop, were it beating. A scar, a bite mark. He was certain that it was a bite mark and yet that was impossible, right. How could she be bitten and still be alive and human? It was not possible and yet there she was breathing, human and drunk with a scar on her arm.

Grabbing her arm swiftly, too quickly for a human. He ran his thumb over the scar, yes it felt like teeth marks.

"How did you get that?" he asked looking her straight in the eye.

Bella blanched. Did he know what it was?

"Fuck" she thought mentally slapping herself. "of course he does, he's a fucking vampire, probably got a few of his own."

"Some psycho attacked me and bit me a few years ago." She answered deciding she was far too drunk to make up a convincing lie. "I probably got rabies off the bastard, it never properly healed right." She continued.

She could have sworn she heard a quiet growl. That sound almost buckled her knees. Bella couldn't quite believe she was getting turned on by a clearly thirsty, vampire who was probably hunting, growling at her. Putting it down to being pissed she hoped she would regret it in the morning. She hoped she'd still be here in the morning.

"What happened to him?" He asked silkily, while still running his thumb over the bite.

Bella smiled evilly. "Not sure, he knocked me out, but I hope someone smoked his ass."

Pulling her hand free. Bella winked at him, downed her drink and left. She remembered the estate agents claim that she could fall over twice and be home. Bella silently prayed that she would stay on her feet. Making it to her flat she locked the doors and windows. She knew it wouldn't stop him but hoped he would not want to take the time to break in. She stripped off and climbed into bed completely sure she wouldn't sleep, waiting to hear the sound of his footsteps on the landing outside her door. But eventually the alcohol in her system took over and she fell into a fitful sleep.

Alistair sat on his bar stool dumbfounded. Could it be possible that the human didn't know what had bitten her? She didn't seem to be lying. And why did the thought of someone biting her make him growl? He was so shocked he didn't get up to follow her.

"Smoked his ass!" what the hell did that mean? Was she playing games with him? Had that slender, beautiful human girl managed to kill a vampire?

That thought pulled him up short.

"Beautiful! What the fuck?" Humans weren't friends but food. He was going soft, clearly.

Leaving the night club he followed an extremely drunk man from a nearby pub. The man had blood on his hands, probably been in a fight. Before he knew what was happening Alistair had the drunk's neck broken and was draining him. He dumped the body in the river where it wouldn't be found for a month or so.

Alistair then made his way slowly through the shadows back to the night club. Picking up Isabella's scent he followed it to what he assumed was her building. He wasn't in the mood to disturb her now. He was disturbed by her, curious even. This wasn't good. Getting involved with a human was stupid. He should just go up there, wake her up, fuck her then kill her. But instead his feet turned him the other way. There was however one thing he knew for certain as he walked out of the town.

He would be back.


	3. Chapter 3

Bella woke up the next morning, well late morning with The Hangover from Hell and she had never felt happier. Every movement caused her to hold her head and groan but it also made her want to sing.

"I am ALIVE!" she shouted then immediately regretted it as the elephant tap dancing in her skull was joined by a hippo. Or so it felt.

"Not a good idea." She groaned as she dragged herself out of bed and staggered to the kitchen for coffee and paracetamol, lots of paracetamol.

She found it hard to believe she was walking let alone thinking about coffee. She had been convinced that the vampire she met last night was going to eat her. Her memory of the events of last night were, as always a little hazy but she was certain there had been a vampire, one who had made her panties melt.

"Fuck!" she suddenly thought almost spitting her coffee across the room. "You didn't kill me. Who did you kill?" She quickly fired off a text to all the friends that had been out with her last night to check they got home ok. Then sat down with her coffee to anxiously wait for the replies. Or god forbid, lack of replies.

By lunch she had got rid of her hangover, showered and heard from all her friends that were out last night. They were all home, safe. Bella breathed a sigh of relief. She knew there would be a missing person reported in the near future but she just hoped it wasn't someone she knew. Feeling restless and despondent she decided to go for a walk. Usually her walks took her down along the river but that didn't feel right so today she headed in the opposite direction up the street toward the Cathedral.

It was an incredible building that Bella had loved almost on sight. It was a large, impressive building with huge columns and bright stained glass windows. Close to a thousand years old it made her feel small yet safe. She loved just walking around soaking up the feeling of the place. She went there when she needed to get her thoughts straight, or when her Dad was heavy in her thoughts. Today it was both. The close encounter with the vampire, Alistair, she finally remembered his name, had shaken her up. She had hoped to remain vampire free, seeing them around was not the same as speaking to one and she had her only own drunken stupidity to blame. So now not only had she made contact with one but he knew she'd had previous contact with vampires. She could only hope and pray that she never saw him again. She desperately wished that he had believed that she'd had no idea what it was that had bitten her. Knowing what she did of vampires and their world even Bella had to admit that was very unlikely. All she could hope for truthfully was that she had not peaked his interest and that he had hunted then moved on.

All of this inevitably turned her thoughts back to the Cullen's and more specifically Edward. Over the last three years she had thought about him a lot, more than perhaps she had wanted to. It was now clear to Bella that Edward didn't really know what love was. He couldn't help when he was born and brought up. But he seemed to think that love meant controlling and manipulating your partner, doing exactly what you wanted despite their reservations and basically acting like a king in his own little kingdom. Perhaps it was due to his gift, maybe it was more of hindrance than a help. Bella suspected that it had turned Edward into something of a know it all who believed he could never possibly be wrong. This meant that inevitably he was often wrong. With a chuckle she admitted that hindsight was a wonderful thing. At the time they were together she would have sworn on the bible that Edward was absolutely perfect and could do no wrong. What a naïve, little girl she had been. She was fairly sure Edward had arranged her acceptance to Dartmouth, he had told her she should go there often enough, even after he left he was still trying to control her. Did he hope they would meet up there? If he did he would have got quite a shock when she didn't turn up. That thought made her smile and she wondered half-heartedly what he would make of her now.

In all honesty Bella didn't care what he or anyone else thought of her. She was happy in her own skin, she liked how she looked and the person she had become. She felt that her Dad would be proud of her and that was the only other approval Bella cared for. Smiling wryly Bella admitted that Edward would be shocked by her 'loose morals' and immodest behaviour and clothing. He would say her language was unladylike and her attitude disgraceful. He was a product of his upbringing after all. For her part Bella didn't give a flying fuck that he would be disappointed in her, in some ways she hoped for that. Because if they ever did meet again she would not hesitate to tell him how disappointed she was in him and his family before asking them politely to "Fuck Off."

Hearing the wind picking up outside and realising it was starting to get dark Bella moved to head out of the Cathedral and home. Just as she was leaving the building a movement to her left caught her attention. There standing in the shadows watching her was Alistair. He was smirking at her. He looked smug. Had he followed her? Had he been there the whole time? Was he hunting her? It was the only explanation for his presence that her suddenly, panic stricken mind could come up with. Her heart began to race with fear as she quickly left the Cathedral and practically ran back to her flat.

Leaning against the flat door once she got inside Bella slid to the floor and tried to get her breathing under control so she could think rationally. Just because he was there didn't mean he was following her, right. He could have just been looking around and it was a pure coincidence. Berating herself for having run away, she now realised it would have given him the impression she knew what he was. Something Bella knew was not a good idea. But it was done now and she couldn't take it back. Whatever the consequences of her actions she would have to face them. Worrying would not help matters. Forcing herself to calm down she got off the floor and headed to her kitchen. That room always made her feel better. She made a light meal and settled down with her course work determined to put today's events out of her mind.

Alistair had been shocked to find himself heading to Isabella's flat again so soon. He was curious about her and that scar and he just had to know how she got it and if she knew what he was. He had caught her scent as he approached her flat and followed it. She was walking aimlessly around the cathedral apparently deep in thought. He got close enough to touch her on a couple of occasions before pulling back to watch her. She hadn't noticed him at all so he was able to observe her naturally.

She was beautiful, he decided he would admit that. She had a natural, unconscious charm and ease which was very attractive. He never liked those women who put on airs and pretended to be something they weren't. She was smiling wryly at some thought and then he noticed she looked sad. He felt a strong need to wipe that frown away and make her smile as she had last night. That thought made him frown. Why should he care if she was happy or not? Stupid human, he should just kill her and be done with it. And yet the very thought of killing her left him cold. What was going on with him?

Alistair watched her get up to leave and decided to get her attention. Moving ahead of her he stepped out of the shadows just enough for her to notice him. Straight away he heard her heart take off in fear, the colour drained from her face and she practically ran home. Sauntering after her he took in this new development. She was afraid of him when sober. Why? She must know what he was. If that was the case how had she survived being bitten? If she was attached to a vampire why weren't they with her now? He had picked up no other scents for some time. Unless it was simply the natural fear humans felt for vampires? He cursed himself for being curious. Why should it bother him? She was of no importance, nothing, a distraction. He forced himself to move away from her flat. He headed out of town. He would not come back.

ooOOoo

Over the next week Bella managed to pull herself together. They guy who had been reported missing a week ago was apparently known as a drug dealer, no one she knew so she was relieved. Bella knew vampires didn't hunt in the same town too often as it could draw the wrong kind of attention so she hoped that she had seen the last of Alistair. As the days passed she slowly began to relax. Had she dodged the bullet? She began to allow herself the hope that she had. Her course work was piling up so it gave her an adequate distraction. Things went swiftly back to normal.

However as she was walking back to her flat in the dark the following Monday night after getting some groceries, she had the feeling she was being followed. Speeding up slightly she turned a corner and looked over her shoulder. She could see no one there but the feeling did not diminish. She felt in her pocket for her pepper spray. She always carried it in deference to her father. She reached her flat safely and locked the door. As Bella closed the living room curtains she noticed a dark shape in the shadow across from her flat. She couldn't make out any distinguishing characteristics before it melted away slowly, so she had been followed. Leaning against the wall Bella tried desperately to control her ragged breathing and racing heart. She was terrified. There had been a couple of girls attacked lately by a human man, Bella just prayed she wasn't next. Being unable to settle she thought about calling Becky and asking her to come over. She didn't want to be alone but didn't want Becky walking to her place if there was a crazy rapist out there. Bella knew she would have to just tough it out. The thought that it might be Alistair did occur to her as well. In which case she definitely didn't want someone else mixed up in this.

Alistair had been shocked when his gift had led him back to Durham just a week later. He was drawn to the place and the knowledge that Isabella was more than likely the draw did not improve his mood. He had been in a bad mood since leaving Durham a week ago. Following her scent from her flat to the university then back to a supermarket he caught up with her as she was walking home. He knew exactly when she realised he was there and the sound of her heart taking off again in fear made him smile a smile do sinister that it would freeze the blood of anyone who saw it. He liked her fear, he liked that she ran. He wanted to court her fear, to make her run. He found that this time he liked the chase. That must be why he was back, he decided. He had never been one to play with his food but now he couldn't help it, still unable to bring himself to kill her, Alistair decided he would taunt her for a while until he could. After all, she was food, nothing more. Seeing her look straight at him out of her window, seeing her eyes widen in terror, he smiled again and turned away. He knew he would be back.

ooOOoo

Over the next several weeks Bella became certain she had a stalker. She was truly afraid. She now knew that it was Alistair and not a human rapist. That knowledge did not bring her any comfort. Every few days she would catch a glimpse of him. One night he even stood in the light so she could see him. The smile on his face chilled her to the bone. He seemed to take great delight in her terror, like it was entertaining. It was just a game to him, he was just playing with her, like a cat with a mouse. Letting it go, think it was free, then snatching it back up again. She remembered Jasper had once said that fear made the blood taste sweeter. Was that what Alistair was doing, sweetening her up? Upon realising this Bella began to assess her options. She could pack up and go home to the safety of the pack, tail between her legs, a failure. She could beg Jake or one of the others to visit in the hope that they could chase him away and not die or reveal themselves in the process. Or she could take control and show him she wasn't going to play his game anymore. Either way she had to do something, she was a nervous wreck, hardly sleeping, barely eating. Something had to change.

After deliberating for a few more days she was no nearer a decision. He wasn't here just now but going off the previous weeks she guessed he would be back tomorrow or the next night, however she could not really be sure. He seemed to be enjoying her fear and discomfort as far as she could tell. The anticipation of what might happen was driving Bella mad. It had to stop. Passing a clothes shop with a sale on Bella made a snap decision and went into the shop.

Two days later walking back from the library Bella felt she was being followed. Glancing in a window she saw a shadow duck into a doorway. Bella smiled to herself.

"Game on." She thought. Perhaps her plan was stupid, perhaps it would end in her death but it was her plan, her idea and that thought gave her some comfort. She was taking back control, at least some of it. Heading back to her flat at a leisurely pace, Bella couldn't help the thrill of excitement that ran through her. She was nervous but also filled with anticipation. Whatever was going to happen next would be on her terms.

Alistair couldn't understand the change in his quarry when he started to follow her again. Her heart sped up slightly but not the gallop of terror he was looking forward to hearing. She didn't speed up her pace, in fact she took the time to window shop. He growled quietly to himself. It appeared they were playing a different game today. One whose rules he had yet to learn. Perhaps this was the signal he was waiting for, the one which told him the chase was over and to just kill her and end his torment.

And he was tormented. He could not get the girl out of his mind. He had even found himself stalking a young brunette that resembled her in Wales. He had killed that girl in the hope it would free him but it didn't, he had panicked for a moment when he came down from the feeding induced haze he had allowed to overtake him. He had thought for a split second he had killed her, Isabella, and it had been painful. He didn't understand what she was doing to him.

Bella took a deep breath. She had got back to her flat with Alistair following her all the way. She had managed to keep calm the whole time. She had forced herself to eat something and set the things out for her plan. She needed to take her time, she needed to feel in control. As the evening wore on she poured herself a glass of wine, unlocked the front door and opened the living room window. She could see him in the shadows opposite. A dark shape, not moving, the chill of terror she usually felt was replaced with a relief in the knowledge that no matter what happened next, one way or another, the nightmare of the last few weeks was over. Without raising her voice she spoke down to the shadows.

"You do realise stalking is a crime. If you really must insist on hanging around you may as well come in. The front door is unlocked and you are making the place look untidy standing there." With that she closed the window, drew the curtains and took a deep breath. She heard the front door open and close again softly, then the lock clicked into place.

"This is it" she thought to herself as he walked slowly into the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the reviews. I real enjoy reading them.**

**Enjoy.**

He looked every bit as gorgeous as she remembered. The smile that he wore was not the sinister one she had seen recently but an uncertain one. Bella knew that by inviting him in she had wrong footed him, he didn't know what to expect.

Bella sat quietly as he walked slowly around the room looking at the photo's she had on the walls.

"Drink?" She asked him with a challenging raised eyebrow and a nod towards the bottles of wine and Scotch whisky on the table next to her.

He chuckled quietly.

"Thanks hen." He replied while reaching for the whisky.

"I saw you drinking that at the club that night. I didn't realise vampires could drink alcohol." Bella said conversationally, laying her cards out on the table, figuratively speaking.

"So you do know." Alistair looked her straight in the eye and sitting on a chair opposite her. "I thought as much. How?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really. I am simply curious as to how you survived getting bitten. And yes we can drink alcohol, or rather our bodies can absorb it, takes a hell of a lot to get us drunk though and if we have too much it has to come back up."

Bella laughed at that and decided to answer.

"I was bitten by a psycho, my ex-boyfriend, a vampire, sucked the venom out to stop the change." She was trying not to give too much away yet. She didn't know if he was going to kill her or not. If she told him about the Cullen's and he knew them he might just tell them where she was. Bella definitely didn't want to risk that.

"Psycho?"

"A nomad, he liked the hunt. He decided I would be an entertaining game. What else would you call him?" Bella responded tartly.

"A vampire." Alistair said slowly, carefully enunciating the word as though he were talking to a dumb child. Bella supposed she was a child to him.

"Are all vampires sadistic and cruel then? He pretended he had my mother and that he was going to kill her, to get me to go to him." Bella asked with indignation.

"Don't get shirty with me hen. It's got nothing to do with being sadistic and cruel. It's just what he was. We hunt, we feed, most on humans. Why should we care if it's not nice for you? Do you care what the cow thinks?"

Bella considered he answer carefully. "No I don't suppose I do consider the cows, thoughts and feelings but there are rules and laws to prevent cruelty and inhumanity."

"Well guess what sweetheart. We Are Not Human." Alistair growled out at her and stalked to the other side of the room. This girl had him in knots. How could she get a reaction out of him in ten minutes when he had spent centuries not reacting at all?

He had been shocked by her calmness earlier this evening. He had almost left several times but something had compelled him to stay. Then the window had opened. Her scent had drifted down to him making him take deep breaths. It had calmed his annoyance.

Shocked did not really begin to describe his feelings when she had invited him in. What sort of human willingly and knowingly invites a vampire into their home? And yet it was obvious she knew what he was by the fact she didn't raise her voice. He had laughed darkly as he walked to her front door. Did she have a death wish? She hadn't appeared suicidal when they met before but then again she had been very drunk.

"Oh well, I'll be happy to oblige" he had thought as he approached her door. "Might still get desert even."

And yet now here he was in her flat, drinking her whisky and he hadn't made a move toward her at all. He had even moved away from her when he felt himself getting angry. Why? He didn't like it that she seemed to be judging him, he wasn't one to question his choices. Who did she think she was to do so?

Bella could see that she had annoyed him and that wasn't what she had wanted to do. She had hoped that if he could come to see her as a person he would stop stalking her and leave her alone. She knew having an angry vampire in her front room was not a good idea. She also realised he was right. She couldn't expect human values from inhuman beings.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound so self-righteous." Bella said quietly. "I don't think he was a psycho for feeding on humans, just for toying with me the way he did."

Tanking a deep breath. Bella decided to change the subject.

"So Alistair, tell me about yourself, what's your name? When were you turned?"

Taken aback by the question he paused before answering and poured himself another large whisky. Noticing her empty glass he filled it for her automatically. Her whispered "thank you" made him shake his head. What was she doing to him?

"I was turned in Scotland in 1306, my name is Alistair Buchanan." He answered abruptly. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her about himself, on the contrary, he felt the urge to tell her everything. But he was confused at what was going on. He needed time to think.

Bella could tell that was all she was going to get on that subject tonight. Taking another deep breath she spoke in what she fervently hoped was a confident tone.

"Well listen Alistair, you stalking me was fun and all but let's be honest here, if you were going to kill me you would have done it by now. Which means that if you are going to continue to hang around you really should try to look a little less like a tramp and fit in. Your scruffiness does tend to make you stand out."

Alistair nearly spat his drink at her when he heard the matter of fact way she told him he was a mess. He had never had a female make that comment before. Most were dazzled by his vampiric looks. Looking down at his stained, ripped jeans and holey footwear he had to admit she was correct.

"I took the liberty of buying you some clothes and stuff." Bella continued cheerily. "They are in the spare room. If anything doesn't fit I can take it back tomorrow, just don't take the tags out. The bathroom is down the hall. Help yourself. I have left you a spare key so you can come and go as you want, just don't bring girls back here to kill ok."

With that she stood and carrying her wine walked into her bedroom.

"Good night Alistair."

Sitting looking at the half empty glass in front of him Alistair had to ask himself.

"What the fuck just happened? When did I become a house guest?" He was unable to understand why he hadn't just killed her when he first thought of it. He should just kill her now. Growling in annoyance he headed towards her bedroom door but stopped. He couldn't do it. So instead of draining her he obediently went to the bathroom to shower.

Although he hated to admit it, the shower felt good as did the clean clothes. They were basic and practical, jeans, t-shirts, jumpers and a couple of jackets. There was a hat, scarf and gloves. They both knew he didn't need them so they must be so he could fit it. The boots fit as well, they were clean and smarter. Isabella had bought him several changes of clothing and footwear as well as toiletries. She was obviously planning on him being around for a while.

He never stayed in one place long, he just wandered but for now he didn't feel like leaving. He was not being pulled in any given direction. He decided he would stay a while. Putting the clothes in the wardrobe he headed back out into the main part of the flat and poured himself another drink, it was a rare thing for him to enjoy these days. Her scent was everywhere, along with that of another, a female he thought. The other scent was quite strong in the room he had been allocated so it clearly did not belong to a lover. For some reason the thought of Isabella having a lover made him annoyed again. Why he didn't know? She was nothing to him, right?

Alistair had to be honest with himself. She was an enigma. She was slowly sliding under his skin, becoming part of him. Becoming something to him. What he wasn't sure, but something. A small wart on the back of his hand, part of him yet not an altogether welcome part. He began to suspect that he would not be able to kill her. She clearly thought that as well. It dented his ego a bit to think she wasn't afraid of him anymore. That was a recent development though, he wondered what had changed. He also wondered who the vampire was that she had known. He couldn't understand why they would try to stop the change, clearly they were strange.

Being bored and in a nosy mood he studied the photo's again for a clue as to the identity of the mysterious vampire. That was his excuse but really he just wanted to get into Isabella's head and figure all this out. Looking at the one of her with a group of half-naked men made him growl again. There was another couple of photographs of these men, one of them looked very friendly, perhaps too friendly, but in others they were with women. He could clearly recognise her father and mother in other pictures and what looked like school friends both past and present, but no vampires.

"She was cute when she was younger" he thought as an aside while sipping his drink. He rummaged through her note books and address books to try and find a clue but there were no names he recognised. There was nothing in the drawers and cupboards either. His now obsessive browsing brought him to her bedroom door. Should he? No he shouldn't, he turned away but turned right back around. He was curious and knew anything really private would be in her bedroom. He might find out some juicy titbits. But no he couldn't go I there, she was sleeping. He turned away again but in a flash turned back and quietly opened her bedroom door.

Standing in the doorway, the door partially open should he disturb her he slowly looked around the room. Moving into the room he noticed there were more pictures in here, parents again and a picture of the friendly boy, with a man in a wheelchair, his father Alistair surmised. He carefully opened a couple of drawers but they were filled with clothes so he closed them. The underwear drawer held no secrets. He picked out several items and carelessly threw them over his shoulder. Alistair smirked to himself as he examined some articles in more detail, concluding that Isabella had good taste. He wondered absently what she would look like in just these. Stepping away from the drawers he noticed he had made quite a mess so quickly scooped up the discarded contents of the drawer and replaced them.

Looking around he spotted her phone was beside the bed so he picked it up to look through but stopped when he looked at her face. Isabella was sleeping peacefully. What kind of human would sleep like that with a vampire so close by? Perhaps she was used to sleeping around vampires, after all he was her ex she had said. Perhaps they spent many nights together. That thought didn't sit well with Alistair. What kind of vampire watched a human sleep? Then he chuckled, apparently the kind like him. Had the ex just laid there gazing at her? That must have been boring. Did she find it awkward? Probably not after all humans slept together all the time.

That still didn't explain who he was. Obviously they had broken up which was why she was here alone, but why didn't he want her turned? Perhaps she had meant very little to him. But if that was the case why go to the effort of saving her from the nomad. Too many things didn't make sense to Alistair and he didn't like it.

As he watched her she turned over and mumbled something incoherent.

"She talks in her sleep!" he thought with a smile. That made things slightly more entertaining. With a smirk on his face and a child-like urge to be mischievous he whispered, "What was that hen?" Not expecting an answer but grinning like the child who had just put glue on the teacher's chair and almost squirming on the spot he realised he was trying to hold his non-existent breath.

"No Edward, don't" she muttered.

"Edward!" Alistair was surprised, who was Edward? His curiosity was peaked, this he had to know. Looking through the contacts on her phone she spotted several pictures he recognised. Jacob, Emily, Angela and Becky they were all in pictures he had seen on the walls. But no Edward or any other name he recognised. Reading quickly through her text messages, emails and Facebook gave him no further details. He headed back into the front room to check out her laptop and hopefully get some information.

The laptop held nothing helpful either but it did kill a few hours. By the time he had finished rooting through her e-mails and files it was morning and Isabella was stirring. He put the laptop back in her bag and sat watching the television in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. The fact he was hoping was new to Alistair.

"You look much better." Isabella said when she came into the room. She was wearing a t-shirt and tight jeans. Alistair looked at her long legs and slender waist in appreciation. He followed her into the kitchen, watching her backside the whole time.

"So what did you do last night besides go through my underwear drawer?"

"I was curious about you Isabella." Alistair admitted without a hint of remorse while leaning against the counter. "I am trying to uncover your secrets." He added with a rakish grin.

Bella blushed at that. The thought of him 'uncovering her secrets' was a nice one.

"It's Bella, and the only secrets in that drawer are 'Victoria's'. Next time do try to put them back the way you found them."

Alistair chuckled.

"You are an unusual human Bella, there are few I bet that would sleep so peacefully with a vampire in their room, but of course you must be used to that with your ex?"

Bella made herself some coffee before answering.

"My ex used to enjoy watching me sleep, even before I knew him. He would sneak into my room at night and watch. I thought it romantic at first, now I think it was weird. After all that is all he ever did, watch."

Alistair raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"What? He would just stand in the corner and stare like some deranged statue?" He laughed loudly at that.

"Oh my god. Edward! It was Edward Cullen wasn't it, your ex? He's the only one I know puritanical enough to do something like that. Dear god! How did you survive the boredom of dating that little prick?" Alistair doubled over laughing. "I can't believe it after all this time he finds himself a female willing to spend time with him and all he does is watch her sleep. No wonder he is an ex."

Bella was shocked that he had guessed correctly. Where he had got Edward from she had no idea.

"How do you know his name?" She challenged accusingly. "How do you know him?"

"Oh now come on hen, no need to get upset." Alistair said, still laughing. "You mentioned the name in your sleep and when you described his behaviour I put two and two together. I met Carlisle a couple of centuries ago and met Edward about fifty or so years ago. We didn't get along."

"Are you still in touch with them?"

"No, but I can find them if you want." He couldn't understand why the thought of taking her to them filled him with dread.

"No, definitely not, I don't want to find them." She had blurted it out before she could stop herself.

He looked at her questioningly. Bella drained her coffee and made another and some toast. She would need it. She then proceeded to explain her connection with the Cullen family and how they had left her. She told him the whole story of James and about her father and mother. For some inexplicable reason Bella trusted the man before her. She felt compelled to tell him all her deepest, darkest secrets but held back from telling him everything. Why? She had no idea. But she wasn't prepared to tell him about Victoria, her death and the expose the pack just yet.

When she finished her story Alistair was thoughtful. He was impressed by her courage and resilience. He thought there was something more to her reaction when Edward left but didn't mention it. That wasn't a normal reaction as far as he knew. It seemed to him like she had suffered some kind of withdrawal. He kept those thoughts to himself for now. The boy had been clearly very confused.

"Well hen, don't worry, I won't contact them and I can make sure they'll stay away from you." Why he was offering he wasn't sure. What the hell was she doing to him? A human! Causing him to make promises. Promises. Hell he couldn't remember the last time he made a promise. Except for the normal male promise, "You'll not regret it in the morning". All he was certain of was that as long as she wanted to stay free of the Cullens he would make sure she was. Besides it gave him something to do. And he suddenly realised how bored he had been for the past two centuries.

"Thanks. I am not ready to see them again. I may never be. They hurt me badly, but worse they cost me time with my dad I will never get back." Bella struggled to compose herself. Re-visiting the past had been harder than she anticipated.

"So did all the clothes fit? Do you want anything else?" She asked abruptly, changing the subject.

"Yes hen they are fine thank you. You didn't have to go to such trouble though," he answered, mystified at her sudden change of subject. Mystified by this small human and her intentions.

"Really, I did. I mean I'm not the most fashion conscious of people but even I know holes are not good." She laughed. Relieved that he had not reacted or asked about the change in conversation. "Want to go for a walk? You can tell me about yourself." She asked with a smile.

Alistair looked out of the window, it was cloudy enough.

"Sure hen, why not?

They spent the day, walking, talking and laughing. They got to know each other. By lunch they were well on their way to becoming firm friends. He sniffed at her lunch with a disgusted sneer and refused to even taste it until she informed him that Edward had tried food for her. Bella found the expression on his face as he forced down a chip hilarious. She laughed even louder as he disappeared into the bathroom and came back out with a really grumpy expression.

"Come on grumpy." Bella laughed linking his arm. "I need some more whisky."

"I'll get this hen." He said later handing over a card to the cashier.

"Where did you get that?" She whispered accusingly as they left the shop and headed back to her flat.

"Took it from the guy I killed last week." He announced matter-of-factly, then burst out laughing at her scandalised expression.

"Oh my god. They could track that to me." She hissed back looking round as though she expected the police to jump out on her at any second. "They might think I killed him"

"Oh hen, you should see your face" he said as he closed the flat door behind them.

"I am so glad you think me being arrested is funny." She huffed as she put the groceries away and poured two glasses of whisky.

Raising an eyebrow at her strop Alistair smiled as he took the proffered glass.

"The Cullens have money, why would you assume I don't, just because I don't dress up like a film star does not mean I am poor. I just never really need it."

"You mean that's yours? Oh thank god. I really don't want to go to jail."

"Oh don't fret hen, I'll keep you safe, promise." On impulse he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gently kissed her cheek. Bella gasped and turned toward him, quickly pressing her lips to his.

Stepping back Alistair looked away. He was shocked by his actions and her response. Humans were easy to seduce but he wasn't trying to seduce her. It was confusing.

Bella opened her mouth to rant, that he needn't start the 'I'm sorry for the kiss' speech and the 'you aren't what I want' one but was silenced by his lips on hers again.

"Don't Iseabail," he said while rubbing his thumb on her cheek bone. "I'm not sorry, I'm just not sure what's going on here and I don't want to lead you on. That in its self is unheard of where I am concerned."

Bella nodded and smiled she wasn't sure how she felt herself. She excused herself and made her way to the bathroom and turned the taps on to run a bath.

"Oh by the way hen. I wanted to ask. Why are there pictures of you with a lot of half-naked men all over the place?"

Bella chuckled quietly.

"They are my friends. They are half-naked because they keep ripping their clothes to shreds."

"Eh? Why?"

"They are werewolves."


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for all the reviews, glad you are liking this. **

"WEREWOLVES!" Alistair yelled as he barged into the bathroom mid rant and was standing over Bella, gesticulating wildly as she stood before him in only her underwear.

"WEREWOLVES, you really do have a death wish, don't you hen. I thought you must be suicidal when you invited me up here, but now you tell me you are friends with werewolves I am sure. You girl, are crazy."

"They are my friends. They saved my life." Bella whispered as she turned off the taps and wrapped her robe around herself to keep warm.

"They saved your life? How?" His voice had softened slightly but there was a steely glint in his eyes.

"The psycho that bit me had a mate and she had been trying to kill me since the Cullen's left. It was to try and get revenge on Edward for killing James, 'a mate for a mate' I was told. They killed her, they killed her messenger too. They saved me."

"You are not Edwards mate." He announced with a growl. His voice filled with certainty.

"I know that." Bella confirmed.

"I cannot believe that Carlisle would leave a mate roaming free after having killed the other, that's just plain stupidity." He ranted while pacing around the bathroom. "Everyone one knows that when you end one, you end both. You never leave one alive to come for revenge, because they always do."

"I remember Edward saying that she wouldn't be a danger, that they weren't really close. Laurent, the other member of that coven, told me she blamed me for the death of her mate and wanted Edward to feel the same pain she did. The wolves killed him as well. She thought I was Edwards mate, he told me I was often enough. But he left me alone anyway."

"I told you Iseabail" he whispered while gently cupping her cheek. "You are not his mate. He is just a stupid child with no idea about mates or vampire life by the sound of it. It was no doubt your silent mind and scent which convinced him of his attraction to you, but he is not your mate. Carlisle should have known better, he should have put a stop to this."

"Carlisle will never go against Edward." Bella admitted with a wry, sad smile.

"You are better off without them hen. They are all idiots." He turned to leave the room.

"But you still have a death wish." He added with a chuckle. "Werewolves honestly. Only you hen, only you." He quickly planted a swat on her backside and shot out of the room.

Alistair made his way back to the front room of the flat. He was conflicted. Never before in his entire existence had he walked away from a half-naked female without having had sex first. And yet when he had been in the bathroom earlier he hadn't touched her. He had noticed her lack of clothing of course and taken the time to appreciate the view. Bella had a lovely figure and while part of him was itching to walk back in there and join her in the tub. The rest of him was struggling to control his temper and understand his conflicting, tumultuous feelings. He was furious with Carlisle for leaving her in danger, furious with Bella for putting herself in danger with the wolves, grateful toward the wolves that they were there for her, shocked by how angry he really was and surprised at himself for having such an intense reaction.

Then there was the almost incandescent rage he felt at the thought of another male, he couldn't bring himself to say man as Edward was no man, claiming to be her mate. It made him almost spit flames, he would have cheerfully roasted Edward there and then but why?

Making his way to the kitchen he poured himself another glass of whisky and without thinking poured Bella a glass of wine. He had been wrong when he said he wasn't sure what was going on, he had a fairly good idea, he just wasn't sure he was ready to admit it. She was upset, he could tell. He had to go to her, before he knew what had happened, he had walked back into the bathroom and handed her the glass of wine.

"What the h…"

"Thought you would want this hen." He interrupted her anticipated order for him to get out and quickly downed his whisky. He stripped out of his own clothes before gently moving her forward and climbing into the bath behind her.

If she felt shock or embarrassment by his actions she didn't show it. She barely got the chance to register his presence before he was in the bath with her. She didn't even get the chance to cover herself. He shushed her objections and sighed quietly as she slowly relaxed into his arms and rested her head back on his shoulder.

They remained in silence for a few minutes. Bella sipped her wine thoughtfully. She was surprised she felt so comfortable with him as she had never felt this comfortable with anyone. That she was able to relax in the position she was in was shocking to her. Never before had she shared a bath with anyone and yet here it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Bella had had a brief but good look at him as he had stripped. He had a fantastic physique, lean, strong and muscular without being overly so. He must have been fit and strong as a human. As he wrapped his arms around her she could see some scars like her own, rather than scare her it told her he was a survivor. That he could fight for and protect her. It was a wonderful feeling.

"Are you still in touch with your werewolf friends?" He asked quietly.

"I assume you looked through my phone and laptop as well last night" Bella answered tartly. "You should know I am."

"I wasn't sure who was who." He said with a chuckle and gentle kiss to her cheek as his hands started to roam her body softly. "Will you tell them about me?"

"I don't know" she answered with a quiet moan as Alistair's hand found her breast. "I rarely speak to them. I won't be going back to Forks so there is really no need. They are shape shifters anyway, not werewolves, they can shift on command without the influence of the moon."

"That makes them sooooo, much less dangerous Iseabail." She laughed at that and elbowed him in the ribs. Not hard enough to hurt herself, just enough for him to feel it.

"Why do you call me that?"

"It's the Gaelic version of Isabella, I spoke it as a human." He whispered into her ear while nuzzling her hair. "I knew an Iseabail as a human, she was brave and beautiful too."

"I'm beautiful?"

"You know you are"

His hands gently caressed her skin but never ventured below her waist. He kissed and nuzzled both sides of her neck. Paying close attention to her responses, he made her moan with pleasure. It was the single most erotic experience of her life thus far. And he had barely touched her.

"Have you thought about becoming a vampire?" He asked, he was anxious for the answer.

Bella moved her head slowly to the side allowing him better access. She sighed in both pleasure and resignation. She had always known this would come up one day.

"When I was with Edward it was all I wished for." She answered slowly and chuckled quietly at the answering growl from Alistair.

"But now, I don't know. I suppose I have always known it would catch up with me. Do I have a choice?"

"Well not really. Our laws are simple." Alistair answered. "No human can know of our existence, they must either turn or die. By rights I should have killed you when I first saw this." He gently raised her arm to his lips and ran his teeth over the bite mark making her squirm and gulp.

While he did so he detected the very faint scent of someone he recognised, Edward Cullen. Alistair growled quietly, it was clear to him, Cullen had tried to claim his mate. Alistair almost laughed at the ludicrous notion that Cullen could ever claim his mate, or any female for that matter. Alistair was convinced in his own mind that Edward was gay. He didn't say anything to Bella about his thoughts though, it wasn't the time. He was certain of one thing though, Edward would never lay a finger on her again.

"Have you ever turned anyone?" She managed to gasp out in between panted breaths.

"One, over two hundred years ago. It was similar circumstances to my own change. He was wounded on a battlefield in America, I started to feed but was interrupted. I allowed the change to continue rather than kill him. Garrett and I spent the next few years picking off the English at the edges of the battlefields. It was a fun time." He laughed at his memories.

"Wow. Are you still in contact? What about your sire? Were you changed in battle? Which war?" Bella was overcome by curiosity and flung question after question at him.

"All in good time hen. Yes I am still in contact with him and my sire. Yes it was a battle. I'll tell you the story some other time, right now though you are starting to wrinkle."

Bella pulled herself up and turned around to straddle his lap. She ran her hands over the plains of his chest, admiring the toned hard muscles. She saw more scars on his chest and ran her fingertips over them gently. Scraping her nails down his sides and across his waist line she smiled mischievously when the muscles beneath her fingers contracted and he gasped loudly. Lowering her lips to his she kissed him deeply while his hands roamed once more.

"I will turn you if you want."

"And if I decide I don't want to turn?"

"Then I will change you anyway and hope we can move past it." Alistair answered honestly. He knew there was no way he wouldn't turn her now but he would prefer it be her choice.

"When will you change me?" She whispered into his ear before biting the lobe gently.

"When are you thinking?" He answered between moans.

"I want to finish school first. I have a few months left, but after that I am all yours."

"Oh you are all mine now hen," he replied with a searing kiss. "But I can wait that long to turn you, and make you mine for eternity." As soon as the words slipped from his lips he knew the truth of them. He could never be apart from her now. She was his, as he was hers, completely.

A couple of hours later, when they were dry and Bella was dressed in pyjamas and had eaten. They were snuggled up on her sofa watching a DVD.

"What is it hen? What is bothering you? I can tell there is something on your mind."

"If I wasn't Edwards mate why did I react so stupidly when he left?" Bella answered slowly, not really sure she wanted to know the answer.

"I'm not really sure, It could just be first love and all that, but I think maybe it was some kind of withdrawal." Lifting her wrist he ran his nose over the scar. "I think it's possible he was left some of his venom in this when he removed the other vampires, it smells a little like him. Maybe it was unintentional, maybe not. But that would give him a measure of control over you, make you crave him. It would have taken a lot of strength to break that hold. You did well."

"The one time I met Eddie it was obvious that he wanted everyone to think him wonderful. I wouldn't be surprised if he did it to get the whole hearted devotion he thought he deserved. Then again maybe you really did love him and there was nothing sinister about it. Either way it doesn't matter now, you are free of him, you broke his control and that is something he can never get back. Besides I will make sure he never bothers you again." He finished his speech with a passionate kiss that left her in no doubt of the sincerity of his words.

"Am I your mate then?" she whispered, almost to quietly for his vampire ears to hear.

"Yes Iseabail I believe you are." He finally admitted it. "Does that bother you?"

She thought for a moment, wanting to phrase her answer just right.

"No Alistair it doesn't bother me in that sense, neither does the inevitability of becoming a vampire. But. I." She paused to gather her thoughts again.

"I don't want to be a possession, I am my own person, I like who I am. I won't give that up, even for you."

"Wouldn't ask you to hen. I like who you are too." He answered with a swift but passionate kiss. "I belong to you as much as you belong to me. We are both new to this and no offence but this is the last thing I was looking for. We shall just have to muddle our way along as best we can. From what I have seen of mates, it is an even partnership, sharing the best of both and excepting the worst. You won't lose yourself, I won't let that happen."

They snuggled back down and continued to watch the DVD. Bella's next question came a little out of the blue.

"Can vampires and humans have sex?"

Alistair almost choked on the whisky he was just drinking when she asked that one. He put the glass down quickly and looked at her in puzzlement.

"What! Why on earth would you ask that?"

"Edward always said it was too dangerous, that he could kill me."

"Oh that's priceless. Wait till Garrett hears that one, he hates Eddie boy as much as I do." He wheezed out his response amid gales of laughter. "Oh hen. Of course they can, you don't think I spend a lot of time celibate do you? Hell over ninety percent of the women I fuck are human and some do survive, I don't drain all of them."

Looking at the shocked expression on Bella's face he was starting to worry that maybe his answer wasn't quite as reassuring as he meant it to be. He started to backtrack, after all he wanted to have sex with her sometime soon. "Humans are so much easier to pull than vampire females. Vampire women aren't that readily available and tend to get clingy if they are alone, you can always drain the human if she starts that."

Bella laughed at his discomfiture, it was amusing to see him so flustered. She wondered briefly if she should stop him now or let him keep digging the hole he was in deeper.

"I have good control if I want to hen, I just never had a reason to care before." He was almost pleading with her to understand.

Deciding to put him out of his misery, so to speak, Bella kissed him gently.

"It's ok. I understand I think. It's who you are and seven hundred years is a long time to go without." She manoeuvred herself into his lap again, moving her hand slowly up his bare chest, he hadn't bothered with a top after their bath. They kissed and explored each other with hands and mouths. With a swift hand movement he ripped her clothes open at the front and dragged them away from her skin. Flipping them over his hands swept down her body with a tantalizing feather light touch, feeling her every curve and dip. He followed the trail of his hands with his lips. Tasting her breasts and stomach before he reached his goal.

Arching her back Bella's hands reached into his untidy hair, grabbed on and pulling so hard a human might just lose his hair. She moaned and gasped in time with his movements. He followed every sound she made with a swipe of his tongue or nip with his teeth, that only served to make her moan more wantonly and cry out is name in sheer abandon. She finally pulled on his hair again, so hard it made him growl loudly, the vibrations of which made her shatter into a million pieces as she reached her orgasm.

Hoisting her into his arms he pressed her against the wall. Her hands pinned above her head he stretched her body in a way that was almost painful, almost. Bella wrapped her legs tightly around his waist as they moved in unison, gasping and moaning in their shared pleasure. They kissed deeply as they chased their finale, tongues dancing in mimicry of their bodies. Arching her back in pure ecstasy, her breasts pushed up toward him, his lips were not slow to take advantage of the opportunity. He pulled each cry and moan from her lips with a fierce passion. He was not gentle, or careful, she was his mate and he knew he would never hurt her. They moved together in an erotic dance which could only end in the explosion of pleasure they both felt as the finally reached their climax.

Alistair roared with satisfaction as he reached his own orgasm, in that instant he sank his teeth into the soft, silky skin of him mates neck. His instincts had completely taken over and the need to mark her was primal, instinctive, necessary. He came back to himself in time to suck the venom from her wound. When he was sure it was clean he sealed it with a swipe of his tongue.

Bella was still coming down from the most intense, incredible orgasm she had ever had in her life. Even the self-inflicted ones had nothing on the way she was feeling now. She felt boneless, and completely sated. It was because she was in this hazy frame of mind that she barely registered the bite to her neck and the wound being carefully cleaned and closed. When Alistair lifted her wrist to his lips and bit down hard on the bite from James, she was more aware of what was happening. She watched in breathless, morbid fascination unable to fight, struggle or stop him as he sucked hard on her wrist before licking it tenderly to close the wound.

He returned his lips to the bite on her neck and kissed it gently causing Bella to spasm around him again, sending them both careering headfirst into another climax.

When they finally came out of the haze of lust and pleasure they had been cocooned in Alistair carried her carefully to her bed and tenderly laid down with her. He covered them carefully and smiled in pride as she snuggled into his chest and drifted off into a light sleep. He could see his mark on her neck. It filled him with pride to know she would wear that forever. He lifted her arm and examined her wrist with equal care. Sniffing carefully he could detect no other scents now, he had removed any evidence of Edward. She was his now completely, unequivocally and without exception. The Cullen brat had no claim at all. She did not carry Alistair's scent, she was simply his. The wounds on her body held only the faintest trace of his scent, and that would wash away in time. He had completely removed all venom, his own included. He didn't want her shackled to him as Cullen had tried to do. He wanted her to walk proudly beside him, not be dragged along behind.

Bella stirred in his arms as she began to wake. She smiled sleepily at him before moving her hand toward her neck. Her fingers ran gently over the freshly sealed bite mark.

"What the hell!" she screamed at him. "You sick fuck. You bit me!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for all the reviews. Enjoy x**

"_What the hell!" she screamed at him. "You sick fuck. You bit me!"_

She jumped up out of the bed and looked in the mirror.

"Why did you bite me? Are you trying to control me too? People don't just go around biting other people." She yelled.

Alistair raised an imperious eyebrow. He looked at the naked girl before him and smirked smugly. It occurred to him she may have forgotten she was naked. Settling back on the pillows he answered in a calm , deliberate tone.

"Oh now come on hen, people bite each other all the time during sex."

"People yes, bite other people. You are a vampire!"

"I am aware that I am a vampire darling, vampires bite each other all the time during sex as well." He smirked at her again. Her agitated gesticulating was making her wobble in the most enticing of ways.

"Again that's vampires biting vampires. We are talking about inter-species relations. Oh god that sounds so wrong." She said as she put her head in her hands and sat down hard on the bed next to him.

Alistair watched her in fascinated silence. How could she switch emotions so quickly? Ecstasy, angry and now mortified. It was amazingly entertaining. He was however a little disappointed that the wobbling had stopped.

"Why? You could have killed me"

"I was driven to do it and I would not have killed you, I won't ever harm you. It's instinctual. And no I am not trying to control you. I removed all of the venom, his and mine. You are totally free."

"Oh."

"I don't want to control you Iseabail, I want you with me because it is what you choose. I will never try to control you and I hope you will do me the same curtesy."

"I will. But next time ask first ok. Or at least give me some warning. Will there be a next time?"

"I'll try hen but can't promise anything, instincts take over and all that. And I guarantee there will be a next time." He answered silkily, his eyes darkening by the second.

"So are you completely ruled by your instincts then?" She asked with a derisive tone that made him smile. He didn't bother to answer with words, he simply gave her a look which basically said.

"Well Duh!" that was all she needed.

"So." She purred while walking her fingers slowly up his arm and looking into his pitch black eyes. "What are your instincts telling you to do now?"

Again he didn't answer with words. He just kissed her passionately and lowered them both down onto the bed.

ooOOoo

Four weeks later found the couple in Bella's car on their way to Scotland. Bella was asleep in the passenger seat. She hadn't got a lot of sleep last night, that memory made Alistair smirk and inevitably think back over the past few weeks.

The first couple of days had been great, idyllic almost. They had got to know each other very well, they had rarely left her bed. Watching his Iseabail sleep was actually not as boring as he had thought it would be especially when she started to talk. He didn't hang around all the time but he had discovered that if he closed his eyes and concentrated on her heart beats and breathing he could lull himself into a deeply restful state which killed the time she slept very well. He liked to be there when she woke up though, she was cute as she woke and more often than not happy for another round of sex.

They were brought back to earth with a resounding bump when 'Becky' came banging on the door, insisting that if Bella didn't let her in she would report her as missing to the police. Upon seeing Alistair, Becky had understood why the phone was turned off but insisted they go out so she could get all of the gossip.

So Alistair was relegated to the role of stalker again. Not being happy with crowds, but unwilling to let Bella out of his sight yet he had trailed round the bars after them. He had found watching them entertaining, and pretended he couldn't hear Bella describing their sex life, while Becky asked questions which would have made him blush were he able. She was certainly a character, but now he found himself connected to two humans. Not what he wanted. Dancing with Bella had been fun, but it made him want to whisk her off home, she however had other ideas and got steadily more drunk. His mood got worse when Becky 'crashed' in the spare room. He was truly thrilled with that turn of events, added to the fact Bella had passed out on her bed before he could get her naked, he came to the conclusion that drunk humans were best left as dinner.

After that rocky start he and Becky got on well though. He liked her blunt, honest attitude. She would take no shit from anyone. He could see she was good for Bella and that alone made him like her and resolve to keep her safe.

The next few weeks while Bella was in classes and the library were boring though. He spent most of that time in trees or on benches around campus, stalking her. He felt unable to leave her alone yet. Alistair knew it was just because their bond was so new but it didn't improve his mood.

Things were harder still when he had to leave to hunt. Knowing she had so many friends in the city he resolved not to hunt there again but that meant he had to travel and was gone a day at least. He had thought they would both find the separation difficult but it wasn't too bad, certainly manageable. Things were made all the better when he got back at about six in the morning and slid into her bed, then woke Bella up and slid into her.

Bella knew that Alistair was finding it difficult to be around her friends and staying in the same place so long. She tried to make it easier on him by keeping her friends at arm's length and only going to campus when completely necessary. That however caused other problems. When they were alone they found it almost impossible to keep their hands off each other and her course work was pilling up. So when he announced he was leaving for a day or so to hunt, Bella made the most of the time, filling her day with as much activity as possible in order to stave off the fact she missed him terribly. She spent all day at the library, got caught up on her work and went out with her friends. When he got back she had welcomed him with open arms.

They had talked the next day. They were both finding the need to be together trying. Alistair was sure it would ease although he did think he might not settle totally until she was a vampire too. He was finding it difficult being in the same place so long, added to that he now felt he had to protect Becky as well. He had gone from having no responsibilities to having several. Bella could understand his instinctual need to keep her safe. She could appreciate that he felt swamped by the need to protect her friends in order to keep her happy. While she would be devastated if anything happened to Becky, Bella did understand it wouldn't be Alistair's fault. She wanted to help and would do whatever she could to make it easier. But she needed her space and needed to be able to concentrate on her studies for the time being. Between them they managed to find a middle road that left them both fulfilled but allowed their freedom. Upon reflection Bella knew she would never have had that kind of relationship with Edward. He would have decided and she would have simply fallen into line.

That conversation is what led to this trip. Alistair needed to get Bella away and have her all to himself for a while before the stress of her finals kicked in, so they had agreed to take a few days over the Easter break for him to show her his home land. Bella loved Scotland and was keen to finally learn more about him, so she was more than happy to go. It wasn't that he was keeping secrets but other than the tit bits he threw her way every now and again Bella knew almost nothing about him. It was that he just wasn't a people person and had no real idea how to talk to her. Alistair smiled to himself, he was getting better though, coming out of his shell and opening up, didn't really have a lot of choice with Becky around.

ooOOoo

They stayed in a hotel near Loch Lomond for their visit. It was close to where Alistair grew up. They spent days walking while Alistair showed her places he remembered from growing up. The views were breath-taking, a large expanse of clear, fresh water, pebbled shores leading to rolling hills that stretched into rugged mountains. Banks of dark green woodland on all sides, the colour that reminded her so much of Forks. They took a boat ride to view some of the islands. He pointed out Clairinch, the birthplace of his clan. He spoke about it with reverence, and remembered paddling over to it often.

Bella had visited Loch Lomond before and loved it but was seeing it through Alistair's eyes this time. She was entranced by visions of the past as he described home. She loved just breathing in the air and listening to his descriptions of a life so long ago. He described what he could remember of his life as a child. His family were not rich but proud of their heritage and connections. He had grown up knowing who he was. He described how he had played with the other boys with wooden swords, bows and axes. How he learned to hunt, fish, swim and ride, the lessons he took learning to read and write. As he described his childhood he talked faster and faster, his accent becoming more pronounced, gesticulating with all-encompassing sweeps of his arms as he pointed out various locations. For Bella it was magical to watch him come alive so, he was excited, giddy almost as though suddenly free from all restraints. She smiled to herself as she watched him describe his home, he was a whole new Alistair. It was in that moment she realised she was in love with him. She was bursting to tell him but something held her back. Now wasn't the time.

He described his life, lying in his bed at night listening to the wolves howl in the forests close by, more so in the winter when they were hungry. It was an eerie sound that sent chills through him even now. Listening to the men tell war stories and then with his friends pretending to be there with them. At around seven he was sent to his kinsman Campbell to be a in his household first as a page, then squire and eventually soldier and knight. He was taught how to be a man in that world, how to fight and how to live. He spoke of courting girls with ribbons and poems, then sneaking kisses and sometimes more. Bella asked if he had married.

"No, I was betrothed once but she died before we could wed. Others were talked about but they all came to nought. Probably for the best."

His life was fairly peaceful at first, but he trained hard and became a lethal fighter. Things started to change when he was about fifteen years old. The King and his heir had died and the clans began to form sides in the dispute for who should rule. His family supported the Bruce claim and his kinsman Niall was a close supporter. Then it happened, Edward of England claimed the throne of Scotland as his own. Alistair hated that man, the venom with which Alistair spoke that name made Bella wonder if he hated all Edwards by association. Eventually the inevitable war broke out and sides were drawn then re-drawn as allegiances changed. He didn't say much about the early battles he had fought in. But Bella could tell it had affected him deeply.

One day after they had been there almost a week Alistair left for a walk as she was eating her breakfast. This in itself wasn't unusual as he was not a fan of human food, or watching her eat it. She had accepted that she would dine alone as a human. When he got back he was different, anxious and he had been shopping by the looks of things.

"Come on Iseabail, Lets go for a walk." He said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly as she put on her coat.

"Nothing hen, nothing's wrong. I just want to show you something." He said with a kiss on her cheek as he steered her into the car.

"What's is the bag?"

"It's for you, but you can look later ok."

They drove for a short while and pulled over beside a field. Alistair got out and held her door open for her with a smirk.

"I was a gentleman once you know." he said in answer to her sardonically raised eyebrow. He had never done that before. Taking her hand in his they walked quietly across the field towards a river, they headed alongside for a while then looking around he picked her up and jumped across.

"That was easier than the last time I crossed that river." He said thoughtfully almost to himself as her set her back on her feet and took her hand again.

"You haven't been back here since you were human?" She asked incredulously.

He didn't answers straight away. They walked on a short distance toward a small loch. It was really pretty, surrounded by trees and bushes. He lead her toward a rock large enough for her to sit on and put his folded jacket down on top.

Bella sat down and looked at him with expectation. He wasn't looking at her, but facing out over the water. His face was filled with emotion as his eyes were staring into the distance. Only he wasn't looking at the hills on the horizon, he was gazing out across the centuries, back in to his past. When he spoke it was softly, as though to himself. His accent broader than she had ever heard it.

"It was the summer of 1306 not long after the Battle of Methven. Our king, Robert had been defeated and we were heading out to try to re-group. We had his family with us, the Queen, his daughter, sisters and supporters as well. We were moving slowly along the glen toward the field we just crossed."

He looked toward Bella and smiled before turning back to gaze out across the water.

"They ambushed us, there had to be about a thousand of them. They were Scots! Out for revenge against Bruce for the murder of Red Comyn. The first we knew was when the shouts of '_Buaidh no bàs' _went up. We were outnumbered, exhausted from the long trek from Methvan, hampered by the women, with the English at our backs. We drew our swords and threw ourselves at them. There were many of ma kinsmen there on our side. All around me I could hear cries of 'Clar Innes' and 'Cruachan' as the battle began in earnest."

He looked pained, haunted almost. Bella ached to offer even the smallest comfort. At the same time she didn't want to disturb him, she was engrossed in his tale. He turned his head toward the river they had just crossed, eyes moving as though tracking figures Bella couldn't see. She hardly dare follow his gaze, half expecting to see the ghostly battle taking place before her eyes.

"In no time the ground was slick with bloody mud. All around I could hear cries of terror from the women as they tried to turn back. Horses screaming as they were falling down, not able to keep their feet, or being cut down to get at the rider. Steel meeting steel in vicious clashes and the cries and groans of men as they fell. I could hardly see anything, just man after man before me as I slashed and fought my way through. There was blood everywhere. We fought hard but there were too many, we were pushed back. Robert was shouting orders to get the women to safety. We had to form a rear guard and try and hold them off."

He was breathing faster, clenching and unclenching his fists. Closing her eyes Bella let herself get swept away by his words, she could see the scene before her, horrific and gory, could hear the noises he described pounding in her ears. Her heart began to race. An icy trickle of terror ran down her spine. It was as though she was there beside him as he fought so desperately for his life.

"We were pushed back to the river. It had been a fairly hot summer so it was shallower than now. There were about six of us bringing up the rear including Niall and Robert. They were forcing us back here. I got across the river but the man beside me (I don't remember his name) was cut down as we got to the other side. His arm severed above the elbow. Blood splattered into ma face, I could ne see. He fell on me dragging me down wi him as we both slipped on the riverbed stones. I had to push him away, I would have fallen and been killed. I can still see his face, the fear in his eyes as I practically threw him into the enemy."

He threw his arm out, gesturing toward the water. Bella suddenly felt tears sting her eyes at what he had gone through. Her heart bursting with love, pride and grief. But mainly because she knew why they were there in that place.

"We were fighting our way back along the side here, by this lochan. The path was narrow, we were stumbling over bodies. I was beside ma king. It was just us and them and then I felt it. A white hot pain in ma stomach. I was pushed aside and fell, I must have hit ma head because the next thing I knew it was quiet. Well quieter. I could hear the sounds of fighting in the distance and the sounds of the dying nearer to hand. I managed to pull ma sel up to sit against yon rock."

He pointed to the rock Bella was sitting on. She swallowed hard. Looking at the ground at her feet.

"Oh God" she whispered. He didn't appear to have heard her.

"I could see, bodies strewn around. I could tell from the clothes most were MacDougall's, I could ne see ma kin. Nor the king or women. I knew I was dying. I was cold, couldn't feel ma legs. That's when I saw him. Black like a huge crow. He seemed to glide down over the path we had just taken. He bent down low over one of the dying. I could hear strange noises. I reached for ma sword, I got it but the pain made me cry out. He looked up."

Alistair paused. His eyes closed. He didn't open them again as he continued his story.

"I looked him straight in the eye. They were blood red. He had blood running down his chin. I thought he was a devil come to take me to hell. He bent back down over the body. I wanted to prey but could ne find the words. I had never had much time for the church or been one for prayers in the past, I preferred action. I looked back over ma sins, there were many. I had broken almost every commandment. I had drunk, lied, fought, coveted, fornicated out of wedlock."

He turned back to Bella with a grin.

"The lady was married though so it was no so great a sin" He said with a wink. Bella stifled a giggle.

"And I had killed. Men whose only offence was that they followed the wrong man. I could ne regret any of it though. I knew I would do it all again in a heartbeat. The creature stood and in a blink was before me.

'Are you the devil come to claim me?' I asked.

'No boy, your god and your devil have no place here now. Why do you clutch your sword? You are almost dead, will you fight me still?' He knelt down, grinning at me. I was ne afraid though.

'Aye, I'll try.' I said and tried to run him through. The blade just moved off him like he were stone. He laughed, fucking laughed at me. He whispered something like 'scream for me boy.' Then he bit into my neck and started my transformation."

Alistair sat down heavily beside Bella on the stone. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled he to him.

"Three days later, I woke up from the burn. I had tried hard not to scream, didn't want to give in, give him the satisfaction. I hated him at that time. All the while he had talked to me. Told me to remember my childhood, my family, my life so that when I woke I had lost very few human memories. When I opened my eyes he was leaning against a tree, arms crossed, smug as you like. He had three English soldiers tied up against a tree. I fell on them, made a hell of a mess.

'Didn't think you would want to feed from Scots yet' he said when I was done. Then he sat me down and told me what I was, what the rules were, everything. He stayed with me, I tried to get away a couple of times but got nowhere, even though I was stronger and faster he was much older and a cunning bastard." Alistair smiled fondly at the memory. He clearly liked his sire now.

"He had been a roman soldier, had even been stationed in 'Britannia' as he called it. He had a soft spot for it, had fallen for a girl here and had a family. He liked to come back every now and again to visit and check on his descendants. He wanted me to go back with him to his home so I did. Staying here was too dangerous. People might recognise me and I would kill that bastard English king if I got the chance."

"Where did you go?" Bella asked him gently with a smile. He was himself again now.

"First we travelled around France, Spain, Egypt, Greece. It was incredible, even then. The wonders I saw hen, you cannot even imagine, the world had opened up to me. I learnt languages, science, medicine, so fast, it was amazing. It took about a year to make our way to his home in Italy. Felix wanted to introduce me to his masters, The Volturi."


	7. Chapter 7

Bella gasped. "The Volturi, you worked for them, but they are evil, degenerates. Forcing vampires into almost slavery if they have a gift."

Alistair sighed and cupped her cheek gently.

"I see you still believe that lying, idiot ex of yours Iseabail. They are not evil, tough and firm yes, uncompromising and ruthless even, but not evil. No one is forced to serve, they can leave at any time as I did. The Volturi are necessary in our world."

Bella took his words in. He would know better than she would after all, she trusted him completely. And he was right Edward was a liar, who had never met them.

"I admit to the outsider it would look like Aro collects vampires with gifts but that's not the case. Most go to him for protection, gifted vampires are coveted, and covens try to force them in. Amongst the Volturi they have the security they need, are given freedom and respect, a family of sorts. Carlisle was there for nearly a century, he should have educated his 'son' better."

"Why did you leave?"

"I got tired of staying in one place. I still have belongings there in the castle, I can go back any time. Felix keeps me up to date with technology, he likes playing with computers and such. I even had a mobile phone but it got broken just before I met you. He sorts out bank accounts and ID's etc for me and Garrett as well."

"Will you take me to meet them?" She asked quietly.

"I would like to, they are as family to me, like Garrett. The three of us are like brothers, we are close even though we don't see each other so often. They will love you. Aro will drive you mad if he can't read your mind like Edward couldn't. You can meet them as a human if you want." He stood up and held his hand out to her.

"I don't know. I think I might like that. I am curious about them." Bella said as he put on his jacket. "It's so beautiful here. Not a bad place to die, I imagine. Why have you never been back before?"

"I have mixed feelings about the place. I felt like I let them down by dying, then leaving. I could have ended that war in seconds, but instead I chose to live my own life and leave the human world behind. Vampires are essentially selfish creatures but that's no excuse. I could have saved so many so much pain. I have carried a lot of guilt around with me, and only just been ready to let it go. I need to though if we are to move forward. That's why I wanted to bring you here, why I wanted to face it at last. And as you say it is pretty here now."

"Wading in and ending the war would not have saved anyone. You would probably have ended up costing even more lives. You did the only thing you could. There is no reason to feel guilty." Bella squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek. He turned to her and kissed her back.

"I know hen, but knowing doesn't always make living with it easier." He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her again. For several minutes the clung to each other, completely oblivious in their own little bubble. Until Bella's stomach growled, interrupting them.

"Come on Iseabail, Let's get you some food" Alistair said with a chuckle as he kissed down her neck "then we can spend the rest of the day in bed." Bella giggled. She certainly didn't object to that plan.

Later that afternoon as they lay in each other's arms, temporarily sated, Bella continued their conversation from earlier.

"You said you had a mobile, but it broke. Shouldn't you get another so they can contact you? And so I can get in touch with you. I would like to know I can reach you if I need to."

"Oh Iseabail. I will always know if you need me, I'll always find you. It's part of our bond, as you will know when you are turned. But if it'll make you feel better I will get a replacement. I'll do it tomorrow."

"What happened to them? The women, Niall? Did they survive the war?"

Alistair signed and sat up as Bella turned to look at him.

"As you will know Robert survived. He won the battle of Bannockburn and was King. Niall survived as well, He married Mary, Robert's sister. Most of Roberts's brothers and some of his major supporters were captured by the English and killed as traitors. Hung, drawn and quartered."

He shuddered at the thought of the suffering his friends had gone through. Bella leaned over and kissed his arm gently with a sad smile.

"The women were also captured. The Queen and one sister were sent into convents for the rest of the war. Mary was put in a cage and hung on the walls of Roxburgh Castle, open to the elements and in full view of the people below. They were there to be humiliated and degraded. Because they were no better than animals he said. It is said she hung there for years, perhaps four. His wee lass, Marjorie was going to a cage in Tower of London but I don't know if she was ever in it, if she was it wasn't for long. Iseabail of Buchan who was with them was put in a cage on the walls of Berwick Castle for several years as well. The man was evil, he was bad even by the standards of the day. If you were a Scot, male or female, you were a traitor, an animal and shown no respect or mercy. They survived though and we won, in the end." He smiled down on her and bent to kiss her. They lay together in thoughtful silence for a while.

"What was it that you got for me?" Bella asked suddenly remembering the bag he had had earlier.

He jumped out of the bed and picked the bag up with a huge grin on his face. Bella sat up feeling excited, whatever was in the bag meant something. She opened it quickly. Inside the bag was a tartan shawl, a box and a bear.

"In my day all the fine ladies wore a shawl or something in their husband's tartan." Alistair said almost sheepishly as she pulled the soft woollen wrap from the bag. It was red, blue and gold squares with almost every combination of mixed colours as well, soft and warm Bella thought it was beautiful. He wrapped it gently around her shoulders as she rubbed the fabric.

"This is very like the colours I wore. It's called the Ancient Buchanan now." He chuckled at that.

Bella pulled the box and bear out. The bear brown and was wearing a traditional Scottish outfit. Bella laughed. It was really cute.

"That's just a little something to keep you company when I leave. He's wearing the current Buchanan tartan. It's a silly thing really." He was embarrassed.

"He's lovely. Thankyou." Bella kissed him gently. She liked his embarrassment, she loved the gesture of the bear. It wasn't an extravagant gift that was bound to make her uncomfortable, it was thoughtful and special.

Lastly she opened the box. Inside was a gold necklace. The pendant was in the shape of a clan crest that Bella had seen in shops before. It was elegant and intricate. There was a hand holding a crown with the words '_Clarior hinc honos' _inscribed on it. There was a tiny diamond above the crown.

"This is the Buchanan clan crest." Alistair said quietly. "We didn't have such things in my day but I wanted to get you something personal. Now ladies of the clan wear a broach or pendant with the crest on. It shows who you are. You are Buchanan now through me. I wanted it known." He put the pendant around her neck.

"I don't know how you feel about marriage. I don't care either way really. We are to be together forever so a wedding seems unnecessary to me. I can get you a ring if you like. We can get married if you want or not. But I want you to wear my colours and carry my name. Call me a pig but I want you stamped as mine." His eyes were begging her to understand and to accept this.

"I am stamped as yours" Bella replied while touching his mark on her neck. "I will happily keep the shawl and wear the necklace proudly, it's really beautiful. Thankyou so much." She kissed him passionately.

"When I am changed I will take your name if you want. I will need new ID anyway. I don't need a wedding, I agree it means little really in the face of eternity and I don't want the fanfare. I love you, I don't need a piece of paper to tell me that. But I think I would like a ring."

Alistair sighed happily.

"I will get you a ring gladly my Iseabail. I will wear one too if you wish. Our eternity will be wonderful I promise. I'll do my best to give you everything you could want." He kissed her then and pushed her back onto the mattress.

"I love you too Iseabail. I love you too."

ooOOoo

Two days later found them arriving back to Bella's flat. She had gold ring on her third finger of her left hand. It was plaited yellow gold, simple and elegant and she loved it. They had gone to Edinburgh for a couple of days after Alistair's revelations about his past. They had spent a couple of days looking round the castle and museums, just relaxing. There they had both picked out matching rings. Bella decided she didn't want a glittery engagement ring, she wanted a wedding ring. In her own mind she was committed to him for ever so it made sense to her to show it. He had got a new phone as well and contacted Felix regarding new ID's for Bella and to give him the news that he had found his mate. Bella couldn't hear Felix's side of the conversation but Alistair was laughing a lot so he must have been happy. She marvelled at the difference in him. When they first met he had been sullen and grumpy. But now he was happy, no longer weighed down. He smiled a lot, he frequently laughed and made jokes. It was wonderful for her to see.

Alistair had put Felix's contact details into Bella's phone. Just in case, he said. After that she found herself getting several joke texts and e-mails. She was quite looking forward to meeting him.

Following several intense conversations it was decided they would visit Volterra once she had graduated. She would give up the flat and ship her possessions to Italy for safe keeping. They were going to travel the world. That is what she planned to tell everyone.

Alistair had tried to persuade Bella to visit her mother but she had flatly refused.

"I want nothing to do with her. She hasn't tried to contact me so why should I. I want to make sure that if I am declared dead or missing she can't get her hands on my dad's money either."

Alistair had kept quiet after that and promised her Felix would make sure everything was secure. It was decided that she wouldn't go 'missing' or die, she would simply disappear and loose contact with everyone.

They had argued about her diet quite a lot as well. Bella wanted to feed on animals, Alistair thought she was stupid. He thought she would struggle too much and he didn't want her to suffer unduly with thirst. Bella replied that she wanted to try anyway.

"I love you hen but there is no way I am chomping down on Bambi and Thumper, not even for you. If you insist on that diet, I will help as best I can but I won't join you. Maybe we could stay with the Cullen's for a while after you are turned so that they can help you."

That idea made Bella stop her argument in its tracks. There was no way she wanted to ask the Cullen's for help. She would rather feed on people. Bella didn't expect Alistair to switch diets, he made his own choices. She knew he would support her whatever she chose but he wasn't happy about it. Perhaps staying with the Cullen's would be a logical choice. She wouldn't need to accompany him when he hunted and she would be with people who understood the challenge of that diet. And yet the thought of being with them made her blood run cold. No, she would just try her best and not chastise herself if she failed.

Alistair watched her struggle with her choice. He knew she didn't want to ask the Cullen's for help, he didn't particularly want to ask them either but he would if it was best for Bella. Her diet had to be her choice. He hoped they could reach an agreement in the future but for now he could tell she was determined to try animals. He smiled wryly, she would probably succeed as well, his Iseabail was certainly determined enough. The thought of animal blood made him want to retch, he doubted they would be sharing a meal any time in the near future.

They had been back about a day when Becky was banging on the door demanding entrance so they could go for a girls night out. Then squealing at the ring on Bella's finger.

"You will tell me everything." She told Bella quietly before she asked loudly. "Hi Al. How was Scotland?"

Alistair growled quietly. He didn't like being called Al.

"Great thanks hen. How are you doing?" She just kissed his cheek and said everything was perfect and poured herself a drink. He smiled at her and chatted while Bella got ready. Much as he hated to admit it Alistair liked Becky.

Bella was going to tell her their plans while they were out. Alistair was not looking forward to shepherding two drunken females around later. While he understood the concept of "girl's night" there was no way he was actually going to sit about at home and wait for them to roll back in. He still needed to watch over Bella and found the thought of her going out alone to drink scared him. After all he knew what was out there. He had agreed, however to meet up with them in a few hours' time. But he would be going earlier and hoping he stayed out of sight. He didn't want to stop her or spoil her night but he needed to look out for her. He suspected Bella knew that too as she said.

"See you later, no doubt you'll see me first." Before kissing him quickly and leaving.

He caught up with them an hour later. They were sitting in the corner of a bar chatting animatedly. Becky was convinced they had gotten married. Bella was telling her they hadn't, that they didn't want to. He knew when Bella realised he was there because she relaxed and smiled softly. He kept his distance from them, trying to give them privacy, he just sat back and watched. It was particularly amusing when a guy swaggered over to the girls and tried to get Bella to dance. He was rubbing himself up against her but Alistair could feel her dis-interest. Alistair knew the guy stood no chance, he was not jealous, on the contrary he liked knowing he had something other men wanted. After about fifteen minutes Becky approached to the bar.

"I think you had better get over there and stake your claim before that idiot gets a knee in the balls. Bells is getting really pissed off." She said before ordering a round. He handed her the cash which she took with a kiss. "She's lucky to have you. You've been here all night and never interfered once. Most guys would have been demanding her attention not letting her have her fun. But then again you know she's yours for ever don't you?"

"Well I guess I wasn't as subtle as I thought." He thought as he made his way over to Bella. Becky was observant, perhaps she saw the connection between Bella and himself.

As soon as she saw him Bella smiled brightly and opened her arms, the guy who was trying to get her attention completely forgotten. After kissing her Alistair smirked at the other guy over her shoulder before pulling her to him again.

The days past quickly into weeks as Bell threw herself back into her school work. It wasn't long now until she graduated, but Alistair was like a cat on hot bricks, tetchy and going stir crazy. With the brightening days he had to stay inside more and more and was unable to watch over her as he needed to. He tried really hard not to show it but he was becoming anxious. He needed her to be immortal, safe. His instincts were going crazy with concern. He was feeding off her anxiety at the approaching finals as well and honestly he was becoming frustrated by the lack of alone time they had, the fact she was always either studying, in the library or sleeping. Even Becky had been side lined and that was something Alistair thought he would never see.

He hated seeing Bella getting so stressed over trivial human concerns, it wasn't like she needed the qualifications for a future job. But when he expressed that opinion he didn't get the response he had hoped for. The look Bella gave him would have turned new milk sour. Her answer was scathingly put, that she didn't expect him to understand human concerns as he wasn't human.

But then her face fell.

"I owe it to my Dad to do this, and to do my best. He would be so proud to see me graduate and have done it myself. I want him to be proud of me."

Alistair felt like a complete arse hole. Remorse was not an emotion he had felt often, he didn't know how to respond or react. He didn't bother saying that her father would be proud regardless. He knew that wouldn't matter. He just pulled her to him and held her as she cried.

Eventually the course work was finished, the exams were taken and it was over. They both began to breathe again as the tension lessened. Bella was feeling a mixture of emotions. Excitement at what was to come and nerves too. Also reservations. This was her home she had friends and a life here. She would miss this place, she would miss Becky. But she had started over before she could do it again and this time she wasn't alone.

The packing was done with the boxes of pictures etc shipped out and they were leaving in a couple of days. Alistair knew Bella was going to miss the place. She loved her flat and the city. He knew leaving her friends would be hard, but she had done it before. He promised they would come back often. But he was ready to leave, he couldn't wait to turn her and start eternity together. He was going to ask if he could turn her in Volterra, he knew she would be completely safe there.

It was because they were leaving that Bella asked Alistair to give her a day alone to say her goodbyes. He didn't like the idea, it went against every instinct he had but he agreed and left to hunt in Manchester. He knew if he didn't get well away he would trail around after her and that wasn't fair. If she needed alone time then she would get it.

While Bella did want some alone time to look around and say her goodbyes, she had another reason for wanting Alistair gone. She had decided to get the Buchanan crest tattooed on her ribs and wanted it to be a surprise for him. She was getting it done that morning then heading up the cathedral for a last look around. Before going out with Becky for a 'last fling'. It was going to be a bitter sweet day.

The next morning a hung over, tearful Becky left the flat. They hadn't promised to stay in touch. It was like Becky knew she wouldn't. Bella always suspected Becky was aware that Alistair was different, although she never said. She never questioned the sudden intense relationship they had which was so very unlike the Bella she had always known. She just said they were perfect together and knew they would be happy. Bella had given her the car as well, to sell or keep.

Once she was alone Bella just sat and looked around waiting for Alistair to get back. She wanted to be gone now. Hearing a knock on the door she laughed as she got up to answer it.

"What did you forget?" she asked opening the door. Her laughter turned to fury when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"Oh come on love. That is no way to speak to your mate"


	8. Chapter 8

Alistair was incredibly reluctant to leave Bella for her 'last night of freedom.' He was so close to having her turned and immortal that he found himself becoming increasingly anxious about her well-being. The prospect of her being more durable and unbreakable was also very appealing to him. He couldn't wait for the time they could spend days on end simply lost in each other, when he wouldn't have to be careful and when they wouldn't need to stop. Her current need to eat, sleep and use the bathroom was certainly cramping his style.

He had taken to stalking her every move over the last few weeks. His anxiety levels were through the roof. It was probably because she had been so stressed as well. He knew that his Iseabail found his constant presence annoying although she tried hard to hide it. They were both essentially private people who liked their own company so he could understand her request for a little privacy to say her goodbyes. She had a lot of memories there and she wasn't just saying goodbye to her college life but her human one. It was a difficult time for her. He knew the private night out was what she needed so he had to try and make the best of it but he couldn't help being worried.

Alistair was just so eager to get her away from there and into Volterra. She would be safe there. They would all watch over her and make sure she was safe. He knew she was still determined to feed from animals so changing her there would probably not work, but if he could get some help to look after her during the change and after there was no better place to get it in his opinion. He had no doubt at all that they would be more than happy to help. Felix would certainly help and Alex would be useful. Alistair was sure that he would not even need to ask.

After hunting he wandered around. He didn't want to go back early having had promised Bella time. His thoughts wandered to his memories of Volterra, his early life as a vampire. It was a pleasant distraction that made him smile. The first time he had met the Volturi was indeed an interesting experience. Felix had presented him to the rulers, Aro, Caius and Marcus. Aro had been like an excited child with a new toy. Felix had explained his gift so Alistair was a little reluctant to have Aro touch him. Aro was thrilled to have such an accomplished warrior amongst his ranks. Alistair had been a fierce soldier while alive. Felix had trained him in the arts of vampire warfare so that by the time he reached Volterra he was a lethal vampire killer. Caius had been keen to test his skill and they soon became firm friends. Alistair enjoyed sparring and soon gained the reputation within the castle of being one of the best fighters if not the best in the Volturi. This was both a good and bad thing. There was always some little shit wanting to try his luck. But more often than not he was admired and didn't have to prove his reputation was well deserved. Alistair himself didn't want glory or fame. He wanted to be anonymous.

The time he spent with the Volturi was invaluable. He very soon became a valued and respected member of the guard. In battle Alistair showed no mercy, he felt no compassion. When he went on missions with the others he did as he was told, stood behind and watched. He was usually overlooked as just another foot soldier. But what the enemies failed to realise was that he was the 'action man,' he was the main antagonist, the one they should be wary of. While Jane and Alex would put the fear of god into their opponents it was Alistair that did the killing, very few survived an encounter with him. He enjoyed his work. He liked to feel that he was doing something worthwhile. It took his attention and thoughts away from what was going on back home, especially at first. He had managed to keep abreast of the news from Scotland and on more than one occasion he had had to be restrained, then held by Alex to stop him from charging head first to England to kill King Edward.

Alistair spent the next couple of centuries fighting, learning and fucking. He was given un-restricted access to the archives and made the most of it. He found he loved to learn. Along with many others he kept abreast of innovations and leaps forward in science, literature, medicine and art. He discovered a love of music and books, he spent many an enjoyable hour playing or reading. He hadn't shown Bella that he could play yet. He was waiting till they got to Volterra to impress her. Besides he knew how Edward had always loved to show off. Alistair didn't want to come across like him.

The women in Volterra had been very accommodating, they were beautiful of course, intelligent and accomplished. He found he preferred independent women who didn't cling or hang on his every word but that stood up to him. Fortunately the majority of Volturi women were strong, independent characters who were happy to spend time with him, which meant he had an immensely enjoyable time whilst there. Eventually though he got itchy feet and felt it was time to move on. They tried to talk him into staying and assured him he could go back at any time. He knew that he would remain loyal to the Volturi and be there should they need him.

Whilst there he had discovered his gift. It allowed him to know where he needed to be. He just needed to think about a specific person and he was drawn to where they were, but it had its limitations. It had to be someone he had met. As he had travelled the world he had on occasion felt a pull to a certain place and would make his way there as quickly as possible, only to arrive and have Felix or one of the other guards say.

"You're late. We have been waiting days. We need you to deal with them." And then be pointed in a specific direction. He found it amusing that he knew where he had to be. It was also reassuring to him to know that he was able to be there to help his friends. As time passed and he grew more attuned to his gift he would arrive at the same time, and once he beat Felix there. Alistair had very much enjoyed being able to tell Felix he had been waiting.

Alistair began to rely on his gift, he let it guide him around the world, taking him from place to place seamlessly. He learned that as he was travelling, seeing the wonders of the world. However as time went on he began to wonder why he kept being pulled away from other vampires. He could often tell they were near when he started to get the feeling he needed to move. On odd occasions he would ignore the pull and meet the vampire nearby. More often than not it would end in a fight and a death so he started to use his gift to steer him away from other vampires. It wasn't that he was jaded or sick of battle, he just enjoyed his own company and didn't want to be drawn into the problems of others.

He always knew when Felix needed him, and once he came along he knew when Garrett needed him as well. He had found Garrett bleeding out on a battle field in America. Alistair had been travelling around the 'New World' when the war of independence had broken out. Feeling a kinship to the Americans he decided to stick around and feast on a few English, having never really gotten over his distaste for them. Something drew him to the dying man, he was defiant and brave, reminded Alistair of himself and his own death. He decided it would be fun to have a companion for a while although he had never attempted to turn anyone he decided to give it a go. When Garrett woke three days later Alistair had three English soldiers tied to a tree. The way Garrett fell on them made him smile.

They became close, like brothers. And just like Felix had done with him, he had taken Garrett to Volterra. Garrett had immediately formed a close bond with Felix as well. It had been amazing fun. The three of them had spent all their time chasing fights, girls and life in general. They had an irreverent attitude that, whilst it infuriated Aro in particular, it also made him smile a lot. They had never let go of the human "Joie de vivre." They lived life, loved it and fought for it. That was what made Aro and Caius love them so much. They were the ultimate warriors. When they three were together they were unbeatable and had no need for back up gifts. They fought as they lived. Fiercely. Occasionally Marcus would join their escapades. Being the sire of Felix he felt an innate kinship to the trio. While no one in the outside world knew exactly who they were, the deeds that had built around them was the stuff of legend.

Garrett loved Volterra as much as Alistair did but like his sire he felt he couldn't stay there. Not that he wasn't welcome, he just that he felt the need to wander and the need to go home. He was a nomad. Aro and Caius accepted that easily, only asking that he be available when needed. For Marcus it was harder to let them go again. He had only ever turned one vampire, and as a result the bond between them was more that of family, of brothers than that of most vampires.

The years that Alistair had spent away from the Volturi after leaving Garrett were hard for him. He was lonely and that made him jaded and bitter. He knew his loneliness was his own choice but it didn't improve his mood. He didn't want to admit he was wrong and go back. Alistair didn't want a friend or companion, deep down he wanted a mate. He would never admit it, even to himself but he wanted forever with someone.

A few years after leaving Volterra he had had a run in with a very powerful coven whilst passing through their claimed territory. They tried to force him into joining them, they threatened and cajoled, even offered him a mate, but had found to their cost that it was not a sound idea. They had no way to force him. He killed all but two of the coven and proved in his own mind that he cared for nothing and no-one. They had nothing to hold over him.

Eventually, as time passed. The vampires he did meet, that didn't try to kill him, they thought him strange, antisocial, a coward. He just wanted to be left alone. Other vampires couldn't understand his reluctance to join a coven, or to take a side. He never explained his loyalty to the Volturi.

He had met Carlisle not long after he and Garrett left Volterra the last time. Carlisle was very anti-Volturi, but would never say why. He had strange ideas about resisting your instincts and practicing self-control. Carlisle felt that a vampires instinct, particularly the ones towards mates were a vampire's greatest weakness. He kept himself in check in all things. While they could admire his determination to help humans by practicing medicine and even applaud his idea of feeding from animals they both thought him something of an oddity. Both Alistair and Garrett felt that Carlisle was not something they needed to worry about, but they decided to keep an eye on him. Forging a friendship which was an illusion yet Carlisle was never any the wiser allowed them to watch his activities from a discreet distance. When Carlisle expanded his coven they would visit. They didn't think very highly of his 'family'. Edward came across as an arrogant prick. His mind reading ability led him to think himself superior and always right. Esme was a shadow, who appeared to have no will of her own. Alistair felt she had been forced into her current situation. Rosalie came across as nasty and spoilt. She felt that she should be denied nothing by virtue of her beauty and Emmett cared only for what made her happy. As for Alice and Jasper, Alistair had never met them. Garrett knew Jasper had a vicious reputation and Alice was a seer but was easy to get around. Both annoyed Garrett immensely so Alistair decided to keep away.

As time passed he retreated further into himself. To the majority of vampires Alistair came across as a coward. He had no desire to get caught up in the petty amateur dramatics of a few rudderless covens. So he became a non-entity, a ghost. He disappeared and never really re-surfaced. For Alistair it was very difficult. He switched himself off from all contact. He became a wraith. He lost himself. It was only the brief contact he had with Felix and Garrett that kept him from giving up completely. Felix was trying to convince him to return to Volterra for good.

So when he met Bella he was different. He had become jaded and cynical. Having always been private and wary of trusting any but his closest friends, he could not understand the sudden compulsion to "spill his guts" to then human female that was currently taking his attention. The realisation that she was his had been hard for him to accept. While he was happy he was no longer alone, at first he didn't feel comfortable having someone else to look after. But they had worked through it and now Alistair was certain his Iseabail would be the best thing to happen to him.

It was with these thoughts in his head he made his way back to her. About an hour away he started to feel anxious. He put it down to her nerves about being turned but soon dismissed that idea as the feeling became more intense. When it morphed into terror he sped up to a fantastic speed not caring if he was seen or not. Bella was in trouble.

Reaching the outside of the flat he listened carefully. She was not there, no one was. Where was she? Did someone have her? Was she hurt, afraid? He was frantically searching with his gift. Where was he being pulled? Then he got it a definite pull. He followed it quickly. Checking his phone he saw he had a missed call from Bella but no message. The call had stopped before the voicemail could kick in? Why? Following his invisible guide he felt he was getting closer. Arriving at a small airport he was just in time to see a jet take off. He could feel himself drawn toward it. His Iseabail was on that plane and there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.

His eyes darkened with fury. If she was on a plane then she was safe enough for the time being. Whoever had her wanted her alive. He knew she was alive he could feel it, but he was terrified of what they were going to do to her. He knew he would do anything to keep her safe.

Turning back the way he had come he headed back to the flat. On the way he called Felix.

"A jet just flew out of Teeside airport. It had Bella on it. Find out where it has gone please and if possible who chartered it. I need a flight to wherever she has gone and I may need a little help getting her back."

"I am on it. I will come and meet you there. I'll call when I have more information. Don't worry we'll get her back." Felix was confident. Bella would not be gone more than a few days. Whoever had taken her would die.

Walking toward the front door of the flat he felt an ache deep inside. She wasn't here waiting for him. Her scent hung in the air outside, it was mixed with the heavy smell of bleach and the other cleaning products she had been obsessively using over the past days. Her scent was hidden but he would know it anywhere.

His phone rang, it was Felix again.

"She has been taken to America. The flight plan is for Helena, Montana. I will be with you in a couple of hours then we will set off for there. Marcus is coming too. Don't worry I promise you, we will get her back."

Alistair knew they would.

"Don't worry Iseabail you will be in my arms soon." He whispered as he opened the door and looked around the flat. He was assaulted by the scent of her blood which hung thickly in the air. There were stains on the wall and floor. It was relatively fresh. A trail lead into the bathroom, the smell of vomit hung in the air as well. He growled viciously at the sight of her smashed phone in the bath and the ring he had given her in the floor. Looking at the wall in the front room he could see where she had been injured. Fury overtook him as his eyes turned completely black. They had taken on the look of a shark, pitch flat black and deadly. There was no white visible at all. He looked like a devil, a demon and snarled a blood curdling snarl as he tested the air. Whoever had hurt his mate was dead, he just needed to know who he had to kill. Taking a deep breath he caught the scent he was looking for. A chillingly evil smile crossed his face.

Cullen.


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N. Thanks for all the great reviews I really enjoy reading them.**

**Enjoy.**

"_What the fuck do you want?"_

"_Oh come on love. That is no way to speak to your mate"_

Edward quickly stepped into the flat and closed the door. He walked past a gobsmacked Bella into the front room. It was empty she was clearly moving out.

"Good" he thought. "Makes things easier."

It was a nice place though, homely, clearly her kind of place. The flat was filled with scents, the girl who had just left was the strongest, but under the smell of cleaning products and alcohol he could make out another, male scent. That was not good. Someone to miss her.

"I don't recall inviting you in, you arrogant arse hole." Bella hissed at him as she entered the room and stood arms crossed, glaring at him.

To say he was taken aback by her reaction was an understatement. She was supposed to be pining away for him. Clearly that wasn't the case.

"I missed you love, I needed to see you again."

"Really" she answered in a sarcastic tone with a raised, disbelieving eyebrow. "Somehow I find that impossible to believe. But no matter, you have seen me now you can leave. Don't let the door hit you on the way out." She turned her back and headed into the bedroom, but before she got that far he grabbed her and spun her around.

"Now, now love. I know I was unpleasant when I left but there is no need to be rude. We can move past that and be together again."

"Be together again. Are you crazy? I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. Go to hell Edward, go to hell and stay there." She looked him up and down. He looked exactly the same, perfectly messy hair, smooth, perfect skin. Not a hint of stubble or scars, or of any sign he had had anything other than a pampered, sheltered existence. It was his eyes that she found she disliked the most. They were hard, cold and angry, they held none of the love and affection she used to see. He was angry that she had moved on, that she hadn't locked her heart away waiting for his return. He looked like a child, spoilt, self-indulgent and arrogant. Bella began to wonder what she had ever seen in him.

Edward was angry that Bella was quite clearly over him. She was supposed to be pining away for him at Dartmouth. Not having packed up and moved to a different continent. Never mind the fact she was wearing a wedding ring! How had that happened? He was very aware of the way she looked at him too. He didn't like that she was clearly comparing him to another and he was coming out wanting.

"Bella love, you've changed and not for the better. Your language isn't what I expected of my mate, neither is the fact you have clearly been less than chaste. But I will forgive you. After all I did leave you in less than pleasant circumstances. No doubt you felt the need to get revenge on me. I probably even deserve it. But come with me now and we can avoid any further unpleasantness. We can move forward with our lives together. I will turn you and you can be mine for ever."

At first Bella was too stunned to speak. She couldn't quite believe the complete and utter drivel that this supposedly intelligent being had just spouted. The fact he appeared to think the crap he had just said would make a difference was hilarious. She could no longer hold the laughter back.

"You really are just a silly boy aren't you?" She said while tears streamed down her face. She was almost doubled over laughing.

"How dare you." Edward roared while grabbing Bella around the throat and slamming her into the wall. "How dare you laugh at me? How dare you treat me with so little respect? I am your mate you will do as you are told."

Her eyes rolled and her vision swam, she was dizzy and felt very sick. He released her and she dropped to the ground before slapping her hand over her mouth and staggered toward the bathroom. She vomited as her head swam again. Touching the back of her head she felt a sticky wet patch, she was bleeding. Bella just lay down on the floor, the cool tiles soothing the monumental headache she now had. Pulling her phone from her pocket she tried to call Alistair. The call connected but before it could be answered it was snatched from her hand and flung across the room.

"Calling for help Bella. Why would you want to call a human surely you aren't that stupid? You have to know I will kill him." He grabbed her arm roughly and yanked her to her feet to face him. "Come on love we have to go. Don't make me punish you again. If you even try to misbehave I will kill your mother not to mention the man who gave you this tat." He yanked the ring from her finger and dropped it to the floor as he yelled in her face. "Do you hear me Bella? You will do as you are told."

His eyes were flat black. He was licking his lips. The smell of blood hung in the air making Bella feel faint. Turning away from him as best she could she passed out cold.

Edward cleaned her head wound up as best he could. It wouldn't do to attract too much attention with her injured. Luckily it was a small cut but like all head wounds it bled profusely. It was swelling well and he was sure she would have a headache when she came round. Once finished he hauled Bella out of the flat and into his waiting car. He flung her bags onto the back seat, she had been all packed waiting for Alistair to return, and took off fast toward the airport. She started to come round as they drove but was feeling too dizzy and sick to fight him, she put her head back and closed her eyes. In what felt like moments she was being bundled onto a private jet.

"Typical fucking Cullens" she thought tiredly as she slumped into a seat and closed her eyes again. Her head was pounding, she was feeling nauseous. She felt him fastening her seat belt but couldn't bring herself to thank him. She had no desire to look at Edward, no desire to speak to him or even acknowledge his presence. All she wanted to do was stay alive long enough for Alistair to find her. And he would, of that she had absolutely no doubt.

Edward watched Bella quietly. He wanted to talk to her but couldn't bring himself to speak, he was still too angry. She had ridiculed him, laughed at him, and rejected him. He wasn't sure what to do now it was evident he had lost his hold over her. He needed to discuss things with Carlisle before proceeding.

He had been shocked three weeks before when he had contacted Dartmouth to get her graduation date. He was going to surprise her by turning up there and whisking her away. They had told him that they had no record of her.

"Well where is she then?" Jasper had yelled. "You were sure your venom was working, that she would do as you wanted. It was your stupid idea to leave her behind. We should have just grabbed her and turned her. It's what she wanted."

"We couldn't do that. She wasn't attached enough. You know we would have lost that influence over her once she was turned. We needed her devoted to me." Edward replied. "She also needed to mature to be able to control her gift. It was safer to let her do that away from us. The temptation of her blood was getting too strong."

"Edward is right Jasper. We all agreed with that course of action at the time. It was indeed safer to let Bella mature away from us. We had no reason to think the venom would not work. She must have had incredible strength of mind to break out of it. More than we had reason to suspect she had." Carlisle interjected.

"Well the question still remains. Where is she and what do we do now?" Jasper argued. "We need that shield Carlisle you know that. We cannot hope to succeed against the Volturi and all the others who would come against us without it."

They had all known they needed a shield to keep them safe. Jasper and Emmett could protect the family most of the time but not from gifts like Jane or Alec in the Volturi. It had been a godsend when they discovered her. Add to the fact she was his singer Edward had thought himself in heaven.

Alice had spotted her first by recognising the blind spots in her visions of the future, she could not see Bella's future, she never told Bella that though, hoping to keep her in check. Edward of course could not read her mind. Bella knew this fact but it worked in his favour, she liked feeling she was special and it helped to keep her with him. Jasper could affect her emotions sometimes but not always, it took a lot of effort for him. For her to be so powerful as a human was incredible. Carlisle was practically salivating at the prospect of getting her into the coven. They could force her but it would work out better if she wanted to be there and loved them. The first time Edward had brought her back to the house, they had all played their parts perfectly. Even Rosalie being distant and disdainful had just served to make Bella want to be with them even more. She tried so hard to win Rose's approval. Bella had quickly fallen in love with him and the family from then on it was easy to control her, to play on her weaknesses and self-doubts, to undermine her self-confidence while appearing to love and adore her. When surrounded by such ethereal, beautiful creatures what mortal could fail to feel insignificant?

The nomads chasing her had also been a godsend. It gave Edward the opportunity to replace James venom with his own. James had wanted her for his coven and foolishly thought he could get her. They had dealt with him easily and in so doing cemented Bella's belief that she needed Edward, and had to be one of them. However having tasted her blood that day Edward had known he wouldn't be able turn her without help. Or wait till she had matured before tasting her again. It had taken all of Jaspers gift to stop him feeding as well as Carlisle and Alice pulling him off. It had been days before he had recovered enough to be around her without someone else there. Jasper had been outside the hospital room the whole time, helping him keep his thirst under control. All in order to keep up appearances of the doting boyfriend. It had been worth it though. Bella had been totally submissive afterward. There had been truly no reason to assume she could break his influence.

They had come up with the idea to break up with her following her birthday in order for Edward to get a reprieve from her scent and allow the venom to work its magic and make her depressed, suicidal even, to miss him so desperately that when he re-appeared she would be completely his. Unable to recognise her true mate even after she was turned, if he ever showed up that is.

Carlisle had calculated that three/four years would cause her to pine for him to such an extent that she was his completely when he returned. It also allowed her to mature enough to be able to control her gift once turned without being a danger to anyone else. Turning her too soon, without her complete devotion would run the risk of her breaking away from him and therefore the family. It would mean months if not years of hard work while she struggled to control her gift and they struggled to control her. No they all had agreed it was better to leave her alone for a while. Let her go to university then pick her back up after she graduated. Alice had seen no problems with this and Edward had anticipated the relief and joy on her face when she saw him again. How she would have clung to him, insisting he turn her at once. He being the gracious, loving boyfriend he was would have obliged. But now here was the reality. She hated him, had moved on and it hurt.

It wasn't like he actually loved Bella. Love would make him weak. He had liked her well enough though and the silent mind certainly helped. She had been devoted to him so it was easy to pretend to be totally besotted with her. She was pretty too so he would have happily fucked her when she was turned, when he would no longer have to worry about draining her while in the moment. Edward had thought they would have done well enough together.

Like Carlisle he did not believe in allowing his instincts to choose a mate. Carlisle saw giving into any instinct as a weakness. Even when feeding he never lost control. Edward tried to be like him. He saw Jasper and Emmett as weakened by their attachments. The bond made them put their mates' welfare first. Alice and Rosalie led Jasper and Emmett by the nose. They manipulated and controlled them. And yet he knew it wasn't supposed to be like that. The other mated pairs he knew were true equals, but he couldn't risk his mate being like the girls. He wondered why they were like that. But then again they tried to manipulate and control everyone. It must be just the way they were. Edward would never allow himself to be treated in such a way, he would not be controlled.

Carlisle had fought his instincts and won. He had chosen Esme years before he had turned her. He had left a little venom in her system after treating a broken leg as a teenager. It had started out as an experiment, he wanted to see how long it would be before she was overcome. She had pined for him, missed him even though she had hardly known him. She had been pushed into marriage by her family but it had been a failure because she was unable to give her husband her love. Only having a child had caused her to snap out of it enough to love something else. However when the child had died she had been so completely bereft that she had tried to end her life. Carlisle had felt compelled to step back in then and when she awoke from the burn Esme had been so completely his she had almost no thought of her own.

Both Edward and Carlisle had agreed that they had left things too long with Esme. They had risked losing her completely by allowing her to have a child. Had it lived Carlisle would have lost his hold on her. They should have stepped in sooner. Having spoken to her at length and reading what memories she had they had determined that three/four years would be long enough without risking Bella becoming suicidal.

If Carlisle could do it so could Edward. Creating a false bond was risky and was despised by most but worth it in Edwards's opinion. The others accepted it was necessary in this case to ensure Bella's loyalty to the coven. Edward had always known he would have to 'win' the shield when they found it. He was glad really, that it was Bella, imagine if it had been a man. He shuddered at that thought.

Edward had been convinced of his influence over Bella. He had told her time and time again to attend Dartmouth. He had never suspected she wouldn't be there when he was ready for her. The others had been incandescent when they discovered she was missing. He was ordered to retrieve her at all costs. Eventually with Emmett's help they had hacked into the Dartmouth records and found the transfer of her acceptance to Durham University in England. It had come as a shock to them all that she had just left her father like that. So they had dug deeper and discovered the records of his death. They had concluded that it was that incident which had led Bella to fight off Edwards venom.

So that was how Edward found himself on a jet heading back across the Atlantic with Bella asleep opposite him. She had not spoken to him at all since he had hurt her. She had not acknowledged he was even there. There was a cool distain about her that he found unnerving. Studying her carefully Edward had to admit the years had made a difference to Bella. Her looks had matured, she was truly stunning. He smiled to think that she would give Rosalie a run for her money now. He could smell the blood from her head wound, there was no trace of his scent at all. How was that possible? Had it dissolved when she broke through his hold? It was certainly something to speak to Carlisle about.

Edward knew that the only way to cement her loyalty to them now was to threaten the people she loved. Threatening Bella herself wouldn't work, he knew her well enough to understand that. But what would happen once her mother and husband were no more? Hopefully they would have achieved their goal by then and it wouldn't matter. Or she would have found someone else to care about. He dreaded the prospect of her finding her real mate. Edward could only hope if that event should ever happen that they were able to convince him to work with them or that they could kill him easily. Either way she could not be allowed to leave their coven.

Bella woke when they were about an hour away from landing. She was stiff and sore but her head felt better and she was more alert. Not wanting to speak to Edward she reached into her bag for her IPod. As she did she just happened to let out a rather loud fart. Bella was usually very aware of her bodily functions around vampires and tried hard to be considerate. But on this occasion she got a great deal of satisfaction from watching Edward screw up his face in disgust and move several seats away.

"Maybe I can throw up on him as well." She thought cheerfully. Turning on her I pod she picked her Iron Maiden playlist knowing Edward hated that kind of music most of all. She turned it on as loud as she could stand and settled back into the seat. Edward looked at her in shock as she closed her eyes again and listened tapping her feet and fingers in time to the beat. She was trying to annoy him as much as possible all the while making it painfully obvious she had nothing at all to say to him.

Edward glared at her angrily. She was defiant and composed. Not something he had expected. Why wasn't she begging to be freed? Why wasn't she trying to talk him round? This new Bella was a mystery that was for sure.

When they landed Edward tried to take her arm to lead her to meet the others, she shrugged him off.

"I am perfectly capable of walking on my own Edward." She hissed at him. The venom in her words made him drop her arm and walk in silence beside her. Carlisle and Esme were waiting for them by the car. They looked just the same as she remembered. They both had warm smiles plastered on their faces. Bella really wanted to wipe the fake, simpering, looks off their faces. Esme moved to hug her but she stepped back and held her arm out to stop her. Scowling at them with unadulterated hatred she ignored them and slid into the car. They quickly stowed her bags and got in.

"How was your flight Bella?" Carlisle asked in a pleasant conversational tone attempting again to get a response. "It is wonderful to see you again, we are so glad you decided to visit."

Bella laughed a humourless bitter laugh.

"Fuck you Carlisle. We both know I am not here through choice so cut the crap and shut the fuck up."


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for all the reviews.**

**Enjoy**

Cullen.

Alistair couldn't quite believe what he his senses were telling him. The Cullen boy had taken his mate. Why? Not that it mattered now, because the moment he touched her, the boy was a dead man walking. But he was curious as to why. Deciding he needed more information he called Felix again.

"The scent in the flat is that of Edward Cullen. He must have taken her. There is blood in here as well Bella's blood. It looks like she had been hurt. I can feel she is still alive and human though. Can you get Demetri to track the Cullen's if he can? I'll call Garrett. He might be able to find them first so forward anything from Demetri to him. Tell Aro any Cullen that gets in my way is dead, no exceptions."

Alistair hung up. He felt an uncontrollable fury rising within him, he had to get hold of himself. He sat down and tried valiantly to control his rising temper and the urge to destroy everything between himself and Bella. With a monumental effort he pulled himself together enough to call Garrett.

"Hey man how's it going? Not heard from you for a while." Garrett answered after one ring. He sounded really cheerful. Hearing his voice again did a great deal toward calming Alistair.

"I have met my mate. She is amazing, still human just now but I was going to take her to Volterra so I can turn her. We were due to fly over there today."

"That's great, I'm really happy for you, so why aren't you taking her now?"

Alistair took a deep calming breath and relaxed his grip on his phone before he crushed it. Putting it down he turned on the speaker.

"She has been taken by Edward Cullen. He has her on a plane heading toward Helena, Montana. She dated him briefly before coming to Durham for Uni. The bastard hurt her, there is her blood on the wall of the flat."

Garrett growled loudly down the phone.

"When do you get here?" It came out as a snarl.

"I'm not sure. Felix is on his way here to pick me up. Then we'll head out there. Can you get to her and keep her safe for me? Get her away from him if you can? She is his singer, he thinks she's his mate. The moron left some venom in her to try and control her. You know how Carlisle thinks, I think Edward has tried to force a mating bond on her. There's no telling what he will do to get her back."

"No problem. I'm on my way. I'll try and track Carlisle down. The boy won't be far away from him. I'll keep you informed. We will get her back for you. I swear."

"Thanks mate. I'll speak to you soon." Alistair breathed a sigh of relief. Garrett would try to track her and keep her safe. His Iseabail would soon be back with him. He sent Garrett a picture of her, told him to watch his thoughts and take care. After that he set about cleaning the flat. He didn't need the attention of suspicious humans just now, besides it kept him busy and his mind off Bella. The landlady would be here to collect the keys soon and he needed to be ready so that he could head out to wait for Felix. He picked up the ring he had given his Iseabail and pocketed it. He would give it back to her soon.

Felix and Marcus sat on the plane in silence as they flew straight to Alistair. Both lost in their own thoughts.

For Marcus the situation was very difficult. He had lost his own mate centuries before and never truly recovered. He would not wish that pain on anyone and would do all he could to protect Alistair from going through it. He missed his Didyme terribly. She had been the light of his life, the centre of his world. Contrary to popular opinion she was not murdered by her brother Aro to stop them from leaving but killed by a rival coven when out hunting. The coven was completely destroyed in revenge but Marcus never truly got over it. Neither did Aro or Caius as they had locked their mates away for fear of the same thing happening to them.

When Felix had barged into the throne room with the tale that Alistair's mate had been kidnapped they had been galvanised into immediate action. The brothers had been so happy when only a few weeks before he had told them Alistair had found his mate and was bringing her to see them. The fact she was human was no concern, it was clear he was going to turn her as soon as possible. They had all been worried about Alistair over the last few decades. He had sunken further and further into despondency. Felix had been trying to persuade him to return to Volterra permanently. But then it appeared he was well, happy and his mate was the cause. The entire guard were united in their condemnation of her kidnapping. And then to hear that the Cullen child was the one who had taken her they were outraged.

Marcus and his brothers had frequently discussed Carlisle Cullen and his radical if not delusional ideas on vampirism. They had met him in the late seventeenth century when he had come to Volterra to learn and meet others of his kind. They had quickly formed a friendship of sorts. Carlisle had some interesting ideas, his determination to abstain from human blood had won him the grudging respect of many. But his uncompromising refusal to embrace what he was and allow any kind of instinctual reaction was considered by many foolish. Carlisle had not won himself any friends when it became obvious he thought himself so very far above all others who in his eyes 'debased themselves by allowing their instincts free rein.' But it was his cruel rejection of his mate which alienated almost everyone.

Clara had been a beautiful, intelligent young vampire with spirit and vivacity who had come to Volterra in the middle of the 18th Century. She had been popular with the guard and rulers alike, forging many friendships. She had recognised Carlisle as her mate as soon as they had met, yet he refused to entertain her, even in friendship. She had adopted his diet in an attempt to win his approval but he sneered at her, called her weak. He told her he would never accept her as a mate because he could never be mated to someone with so little control as to allow base instinctual reactions to rule them. He was cruel and vicious in his rejection of her. Destroying all her confidence and joy. While they had all tried to explain the joy he would find with her should he accept her, Carlisle still refused and seeing how he was disapproved of and frowned upon he left Volterra a dissatisfied and bitter man. Clara had tried to follow him but he sent her away. Marcus had no idea what Carlisle had said to her but it was enough to make her give up and never try to see him or speak to him again. She withered away, refusing food and never smiling until she decided enough was enough and walked into the fire. Aro had tried to stop her but been unable to do so. It was something that haunted him to this day. It the eyes of the Volturi Carlisle had killed his own mate and they would never forgive him for it.

Over the years the Volturi had kept a close eye on Carlisle. They had their spies of course and regularly sent guard members to observe him. They had known about him experimenting on Esme then turning Edward and her. They saw how docile she was and how Carlisle thought she was his completely. Marcus knew that he was delusional. Carlisle and Edward thought she would not recognise her mate but Marcus knew she would when she met him and when she did those two could be in for a world of trouble. Marcus hoped he could persuade Alistair to allow Esme to live. Once Carlisle was dead and she was free of his control she would be a different woman and she deserved that chance.

The brothers had long been aware of Carlisle's ideas of getting revenge on the Volturi for their treatment of him. He felt they did not give him the credit he deserved. In his mind he was a visionary who deserved to rule. They knew about his plans to overthrow them and force a new order of "Controlled, vegetarian vampires." He wasn't satisfied with ruling the vampire world and thought that he could dominate the human one also. He believed that the humans would welcome him once he proved he was no threat. Marcus thought Carlisle a fool. What the brothers could not understand was why Carlisle thought anyone would follow him. His coven did because they wanted power and would do anything to get it. They were a group of the most self-centred, revolting individuals Marcus had ever had the misfortune to know of. Alice and Jasper would probably kill Carlisle once they were in control. Rosalie wanted to be adored and worshipped by all. Edward, well he thought he deserved to rule by virtue of his gift. Esme's suffering aside the Volturi brothers found Carlisle an endless form of entertainment and thought him a harmless fool. He would never gain enough support from other Vampires. Most thought of him as a 'mad scientist' for his ideas. While he gained some respect for his efforts as a doctor and feeding on animals, he was not trusted or particularly liked. Carlisle put people off with his 'holier than thou' attitude. Only the Denali coven showed any real support and friendship, mainly because they were 'vegetarians' themselves.

"Perhaps it was the animal blood that messed with the brain" Marcus wondered abstractly.

This however was a step too far and they had unanimously decided to deal with Carlisle once and for all. Whether knowingly or not Edward had taken the mate of a Volturi member, Edward had tried to force a mating bond with another human and Carlisle was planning revolution. They had to go. Marcus felt they should have done something when Carlisle turned Esme but it was decided to let things play out in the hope that if her mate turned up she would kill Carlisle and save them the trouble. The fact that they never made a conscious decision regarding the Cullen's kept Alice in the dark and allowed the family to go along on their merry way. Marcus had always known that if the Cullen's didn't kill each other, then the Volturi eventually would and this was the reason.

Felix too was equally thoughtful as they flew. He had been extremely worried about Alistair recently. He appeared to have given up, he had been wandering aimlessly, miserable and angry. Felix knew it was because Alistair was lonely but that he would not admit it. So when Alistair called out of the blue to inform them that he had found his mate Felix had been delighted. Bella seemed like a nice girl, Felix had spoken to her on the phone a couple of times and she held her own with witty comebacks. She had a good sense of humour and laughed a lot. They had swapped a few rude text messages as well. Felix felt they would become good friends in time. He was happy for Alistair it was about time he found contentment. Felix himself had never found a mate, he had never really looked. He wasn't jealous though he believed she would arrive when she was good and ready.

Felix had seen many mated couples over the centuries. Most had been happy, equal pairings which brought out the best in both parties but some he had witnessed were twisted. What he heard about the Cullen pairings for example made him shudder. The two mated pairs were uneven and wrong. The women ruled, manipulated and controlled their partners, they twisted things to get their own way all the time. Felix could understand Emmett being that way to a point as it was all he knew but not Jasper. Then again Jasper had been ruled by women all his vampire life and Maria was one of the worst.

Felix could remember when the Volturi had been sent in to finally deal with her. Alistair and Garrett had been there as well. It was a few years after Jasper had left Maria and she had finally overstepped the mark. It had been a brutal battle, there had been close to fifty newborns and only six Volturi guards. They had been overwhelmed at first by sheer numbers, Jane was able to debilitate some but Alec couldn't get time to get his gift working. Which meant they had to fight. Alistair, Felix and Garrett charged in with Demetri trying to get Alec the space he needed. In the end Alec had managed to get his gift on about half of the newborns that were left while Alistair and Garrett dealt with the rest. Maria had stayed defiant till the end. Felix had found not destroying her hard, even though she looked little more than a girl, surely not more than fifteen when turned, he could see the evil fanaticism shining in her eyes. She truly believed she was untouchable.

"Well she is now" he thought wryly. He remembered watching her ashes scatter in the wind along with those of her army. That was the end of the real wars in America. There were occasionally small skirmishes with a couple of newborns but nothing on the scale that Maria would operate. But it was no wonder Jasper had a twisted idea of what mates were like. Of course Felix knew like all the Volturi that Esme was not Carlisle's mate.

Felix had liked Clara a great deal. He would have been proud to call such a woman his. He had wanted to hunt Carlisle down and torture him when she died, he had never forgiven the callus cruelty she endured. Perhaps now he would get his chance to avenge her. Felix found himself secretly hoping Carlisle was aware of Edwards's actions so he would have an excuse to punish him.

When the plane landed at Teesside Airport Alistair was waiting impatiently. Once on the ground Felix contacted Demetri to find out if he knew where the Cullen coven was. It was a long shot as Demetri had only ever met Carlisle.

"He is near Helena as you said. I am afraid I don't know where the others are. Our sources don't know their whereabouts just now either but will contact me if they hear anything. I have spoken to Garrett and given him what information I can." He reported in a business-like manner. "Caius is sending Alec and Jane to America in case they are needed. If possible he would like Carlisle brought back alive so he can be punished properly. It is also requested that if possible Esme be unharmed. Both Aro and he feel that she will not be a willing party to this or indeed anything and should be offered the chance to live a free life. That being said they will defer all decisions regarding the coven to Alistair."

Alistair nodded to himself when he heard those words. He had permission to destroy the entire coven if he chose, right now he did choose that. He did however understand the need to punish Carlisle publically. And as for Esme, Alistair agreed that she was more than likely being controlled. But if she got in his way she would die too.

The flight to America was long and tedious. The majority of the time was spent discussing options and catching up. Both Felix and Marcus wanted to keep Alistair's mind off his missing mate and 'in the game.'

Alistair tried to oblige his travel companions by talking and discussing the situation. He told them Bella's story and how they had met. Both were amused to hear of her inviting him into her home. They were shocked at the mention of the shifters, having thought that species had died out a long time ago. They briefly considered the option of informing them of the situation, but quickly discarded it. Felix didn't think they needed the furry help. Alistair was sure that they would help free Bella but he was also sure they would try to keep her from him. In the end none of the vampires trusted the shifters enough to inform them. They also felt more than capable of dealing with the situation alone.

Eventually he grew weary of talking and lapsed into a contemplative silence. Alistair focused his gift on Bella. He was feeling drawn to her, he needed to ensure he was pulled to her, wherever she was. He needed to feel her. She was alive and still human he was sure. He also reached out with every instinct and intuition he had to try and determine if she was hurt or frightened in any way but he could not get any sense of pain or fear, perhaps she was asleep or maybe unconscious. After all she had been wounded and the marks on the wall had been head height so that was a possibility. Or perhaps the gift she had that prevented Edward from reading her mind was expanding and blocking him as well. One thing he was very certain of was that she would not be happy with the situation. The image of his fiery, hellcat of a mate giving the Cullen coven both barrels ran through his mind and him smile. She would give them absolute hell, of that he was certain. He wondered what she would do to wind them up, other than give them a piece of her mind. She was certainly devious and wicked enough to cause them some serious problems.

On the other hand if she gave them a too many problems that would anger the vampires holding her and possibly place her in danger. She had to know that he would come for her, that she simply had to survive until he found her. Antagonizing a coven of vampires was not the best way for a human to stay safe. Perhaps it would be better if she kept quiet but knowing his Iseabail as he did, he knew that would not be happening.

Alistair wasn't worried too much about Bella being hurt. It was clear the Cullen's wanted her for some purpose although accidents did happen. Perhaps Edward really was going to try and claim her again, he was stupid enough after all. Alistair wasn't even worried about them turning her. While he would prefer to be the one to do it, he knew she would be safer as a vampire and would recognise their bond straight away. The idea of Bella as a freshly woken up newborn ripping Edward to shreds the moment he opened his mouth to tell her she was his mate and must obey him made Alistair smile broadly. It would almost be worth all this, as long as he was there to see it.

Having heard Marcus's description of Carlisle's beliefs and ideas. Alistair felt that it had to have something to do with the fact Edward could not read Bella's mind. He discussed the idea that she may have some kind of latent gift with his companions. Both agreed it was a distinct possibility. Had the Cullen's hoped to harness her gift to their cause? That would also explain the attempt at forcing a mating bond. Did Carlisle hope she would be able to stand up against gifts like Alec and Jane? Did he believe her to be that powerful? What would they do to her, threaten her with to get her compliance? That thought did worry Alistair but as Felix pointed out. They would be there soon and the coven would no longer be in a position to threaten anyone.

The Cullen coven may think they had formidable gifts and an unbeatable fighter in their midst but it was about to find out first hand just who was the most dangerous vampire in the world.


	11. Chapter 11

**Wow. I have been nominated in four categories in the Non-Canon awards. 'Waking up' it in two and 'Not Because of Me' is also nominated. This story is up for Best other non-canon pairing. ****Amazing. Thanks so much.**

"_Fuck you Carlisle. We both know I am not here through choice so cut the crap and shut the fuck up."_

"Bella love you shouldn't speak like that it is not becoming." Edward said in an authoritative tone.

Bella just laughed again.

"Shut up Edward before I throw up again, this time all over you."

"I can smell your blood Bella" Carlisle continued in the same pleasant tone as before as they pulled up outside a sandwich shop. "I will treat your head wound properly when we get to the house. It looks ok for now. Do you need food or use of a bathroom, it is a couple of hours' drive?"

"Yes please, both. Edward didn't deem it necessary to feed me."

"Well you were refusing to speak to me." Edward defended in a petulant tone.

"Dear God Edward grow up. Stop sounding like a spoilt brat. Why on earth would you think I would want to speak to you? You barge into my home. Slam me into a wall. Threaten me, kidnap me and then you blame me for not speaking to you. For your information I was sleeping a lot of the time anyway."

"You laughed at me." He said sulkily.

Bella just rolled her eyes and got out of the car.

"Esme will accompany you to the bathroom." Carlisle announced calmly. "I'll get you some food. Something light that won't upset your stomach too much. Are you in any pain?"

"I have a slight headache yes." Bella responded before walking to the bathroom not waiting for her designated companion.

Carlisle sent Edward to get some pain killers while he went to get some food and a bottle of water. Carlisle was surprised by the changes in Bella. She had grown up physically which was obvious, but it was the change in her attitude was immense. Gone was the shy, eager to please girl from Forks and in her place was a mature young woman, outspoken, confident and defiant. What had brought about this transformation he wondered?

In the bathroom she splashed water on her face and looked down at her hand where her ring was missing. Lifting her top she looked at the tattoo in the mirror. It looked ok, but she needed to put some cream on it. Bella had been hoping that Alistair would look after it for her so she hadn't gotten any. She smiled to herself at the thought of his tongue running over it.

"Oh well, you can sort it soon enough." She thought

"A tattoo! Oh Bella. Edward won't be pleased with you marring your skin like that." Esme said, surprising Bella out of her very pleasant daydream.

"I don't care if he's pleased or not. This is a gift for my husband, who will love it. Trust me."

Without looking back Bella walked stiffly out of the bathroom and got back into the car. She knew mentioning a husband would worry them. They would think they could threaten him to get her to behave.

"Little do they know." She thought with a smile.

Edward had said as much earlier. It was why he thought Alistair was human she could not understand, she was however happy to keep them in the dark about whom he really was. Thinking that he was human, they would also worry he would report her missing. Oh Bella knew she would have been reported missing by now, but not to the authorities Carlisle would be focused on. She pulled the collar of her rugby shirt higher to cover the bite mark on her neck, thinking that this was the first time she had wanted to hide it. Luckily it was low on her neck, just on the curve to her shoulder.

Carlisle returned to the car and handed Bella the food. She ate quietly and took the painkillers Edward offered her. Studiously ignoring the hissed vampire conversation that was going on around her, she turned away from him toward the window. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. She began to allow her mind to wander back to the last time Alistair had bitten her neck. He had been right when he said it would happen often. It was the morning before he left to hunt, leaving her alone. He had been a ferocious lover that morning, it was a good thing Bella liked it rough. There were bruises on her hips and thighs where he had held her too tightly. She had been thoroughly ravished and loved every minute of it. Was it strange that she enjoyed him sinking his teeth into her? She had certainly changed her tune from the first time he had done it. Alistair said it was normal, that she instinctively wanted to be claimed by him. He also said she tasted divine, Bella didn't think he was referring to only her blood. With the pain killers kicking in she slipped into sleep, a wistful smile on her face.

"She has a fairly new tattoo on her side Carlisle." Esme whispered. "She said it was a gift for her husband!"

"Husband? What husband?" Carlisle asked Edward in a slightly panicked voice. "We do not need to attract the attention of the authorities."

"There was no one there. She was wearing a ring but I took it off her. There was a male scent but it was faint and old. She was packed and leaving. There were no male clothes, no extra bags. I think she is lying, if there was one, he's not around now, they must have split up." Edward announced with more confidence than he felt. He hoped he had read the situation right. The scent was faint, but with the bleach and cleaning products it was not surprising, it was impossible to tell how old it was. There were no other bags, no indication of a man so perhaps there was no husband at all.

"How can you be so sure? He could have gone on ahead or have left for a few days. You fool Edward if she is reported missing, the CCTV at the airport will show her with you." Carlisle hissed angrily.

"I am not stupid. I am sure." Edward countered. He could read Carlisle's thoughts. He wasn't convinced.

Edward turned to look at Bella as she slept. She was smiling a contented, happy smile. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was getting quicker. She was aroused he could smell it. Edward wanted to shake her awake. To demand she devote her thoughts to him again as she once had. He had never been rejected before. It wounded his pride to think she found someone preferable to him. He began to wonder if he could win her back.

"I can't believe she has got a tattoo. She knows how I feel about them. How dare she mark herself so?" Edward declared petulantly.

"I think Edward, it is fairly safe to assume Bella here doesn't care one iota for your opinion or feelings. I suspect that somewhere in her subconscious she has done this purely as a form of revenge against you. But it could simply be that she wanted a tattoo. It is a shame though that she has gone to such extremes." Carlisle answered him thoughtfully but with a hint of amusement. "She carries no hint of your scent either. I was not aware that breaking your hold on her would do that. It is interesting."

"Interesting is not what I would call it Carlisle." Edward almost yelled. "She is defiant and composed. She does not seem in the least intimidated by me or any of us. She actually laughed at me. How will we get her co-operation?"

Carlisle sighed an exasperated sigh. "We will threaten her family and friends of course. We will threaten her as well though I doubt it would work. And when she is turned we leave her to Jasper. He is perfectly capable of putting the fear of god into her."

Bella woke up to in time to hear Carlisle's comments about Jasper putting the fear of god into her. She was a little disappointed. It had been a wonderful dream.

"Yeh right." She thought "I very much doubt Jasper will get to see me as a newborn."

She kept her eyes closed and tried to keep her breathing even so they would keep thinking she was asleep.

"We don't know that Jasper will be able to do anything." Edward argued "He could barely affect her as a human, there is little chance his gift will work on her when turned. As for him physically frightening her. I doubt that would work. Her shield may prevent him from even touching her. I think we need to try to persuade her to help us."

"Persuasion will take too long and we can't trust it." Carlisle snapped back. "Besides I doubt she will ever trust you again. Jasper has plenty of experience with all manner of newborns. He will keep her in check."

"You mean he will torture her and rip her apart."

"No I mean control her, whatever it takes." Carlisle snarled impatiently. "If however Jasper cannot do it we will threaten everyone she loves. Her mother, her friends, lovers all of them. She will not be able to take the risk. She will behave or people she loves will die. It's that simple." Carlisle found the changes in Bella's demeanour remarkable and highly attractive in a strange way. He was not normally attracted to defiant women but something about Bella turned him on. He had been furious with her outburst earlier. It had taken a great deal of his fabled self-control not to rip her head off, or fuck her silly he couldn't really decide which. But he kept his cool. It would not do to be provoked into an outburst at the moment. He had come too far, given up too much to lose sight of the goal now. Carlisle was determined he was not going to be stopped by some upstart female who thought she had the right to make her own decisions. He would have her gift and he would have her loyalty if he had to rip her to pieces and kill every one she even remotely liked. And then when she was nice and compliant, he would have her body as well.

Edward didn't care if Bella was caused pain, but he didn't want that beautiful body of hers scarred. Her wanted her skin pristine. He still thought he had a claim on her given she was supposed to be his. Reading Carlisle's thoughts though Edward knew he would have a fight on his hands.

"I would rather go straight to the threats. I don't want her skin damaged any more than it has been." Edward said questioningly.

"We will do whatever is necessary." Carlisle answered with finality. "It is just a shame Alice cannot see her future. She could tell us what will work best, then again we wouldn't be in this position if she could have seen Bella at all."

"That's news to me" Bella thought. She had always been under the impression Alice and Jasper's gifts worked on her. She could understand them not telling her given her current position. It was good to know these things though. She began to realise this was all because they thought she had a gift. Maybe if what she was hearing was true she did have. Would she use it to help them?

"Not a snowballs chance in hell." She thought.

Unable to stay in the same position any longer Bella pretended to wake up. It was time to get some answers. Reaching for her bottle of water she took a long pull while glaring at Carlisle in the rear view mirror.

"So Edward. Why exactly did you leave me in the middle of a rainy forest, to get lost, catch hypothermia and almost die if you love me so much and want to be with me?"

Edward swallowed hard. The others didn't know about this.

"Well I needed you to let me go. I knew you wouldn't just give up so I had to be cruel." He stammered while Carlisle growled at him.

"What do you mean catch hypothermia Bella?" Esme asked softly.

"Well Esme. Eddie here left me alone in the forest after breaking up with me. He ran away like a scalded cat and didn't look back. So I was left to try and find my way home. It took several hours before I was found, almost catatonic. I had caught hypothermia from getting so wet. You will be pleased to hear it took me a few months to snap out of it but I managed. Jake has helped me immensely." She smiled smugly. The way she said "immensely" implied a great deal and Bella could remember Edward jealous tantrums over her spending time with him.

"Jake! What were you doing with that dog? I left you instructions not to do anything stupid. You knew I hated him." Edward was angry and scared. He had clearly made a great deal of mistakes with Bella. Carlisle's thoughts were furious and told him in no uncertain terms just how disappointed and disgusted he was that Edward would risk everything so stupidly.

"Dog is quite an appropriate term actually." She said with a smirk "And I spent a great deal of time with him and his friends. We did a lot of things together. Cliff diving, riding motor bikes, drinking, drugs, sex. Oh yeh and killing rouge nomad vampires hell bent on revenge."

"Bella I told you not to take risks. Drugs! Drinking! What were you thinking? Don't you know how dangerous it is to have sex with him?" Edward yelled.

"Oh my god Edward. That whole sentence and you are worried I had sex with Jake." Bella laughed in his face. "You really are a fool. Yes I drank, I actually had quite a skinfull last night, hence the dodgy stomach. Yes I smoked some weed, so what? It was fun. Yes I went cliff diving with Jake and his friends, it was exciting. I went skinny dipping with them as well, now that was a lot of fun. I even rode a motor bike, fell off it a few times too. I had sex a lot but not with Jake, Quil was my go to fuck buddy. But you missed the part where I said I was hunted down by a vampire who wanted revenge for you killing her mate. Did it ever occur to any of you what a shit storm you were leaving me to face alone?" She screamed the last bit in absolute fury.

"Let me guess, the all mighty, all-knowing Edward Cullen read her mind and decided she was no threat. You saw her for about five fucking minutes and in that time were completely focused on James but hey, you know everything right. You stupid fucking bastard. He was her mate! Of course she was going to want revenge. But you had conveniently left town, had run away, knowing that I would be safe because Alice can see the future and because you can read minds. So she came after me. Which anyone with a hint of a brain would have realised was going to happen." Sitting back in her seat with a huge grin on her face Bella felt oddly free. It was strangely cathartic, she was trapped in a car with two extremely angry vampires, miles away from her man and safety and yet she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She had finally told Edward what she thought of him and it felt fantastic.

Bella had been watching Carlisle's reactions to her little revelations. He was absolutely furious. His eyes were pitch black and he looked murderous. If Bella had to hazard a guess it was Edward he was furious with, although from the look Bella had just got she might be running a close second.

Bella could only imagine the thoughts Carlisle was sending Edward's way. He was squirming in his seat, looking every inch the naughty schoolboy being told off. Chuckling at Edwards's discomfort, she smiled cheekily at Carlisle in the mirror.

"Like I said, dog is quite a good description although wolf is more appropriate." Bella smirked she was watching Carlisle's reactions carefully. His eyes widened for a moment before he returned to the baleful glare she had been receiving. "Yes you owe the wolf pack a huge thank you. They saved my life twice. If not for them I would not be here now. After that we became very close, I was an honouree pack member."

"Twice, what did they save you from the second time? If you are so close to them why were there no pictures in your flat? Why did you leave?" Edward sounded almost desperate. Carlisle's thoughts were quite clearly scaring him.

"Well you see Victoria sent Laurent to check up on me. He was going to kill me himself but Sam and the boys ripped him to pieces. Then obviously they killed Victoria too but that was later. As to why I left, my reasons are my own, but I had lots of photo's on my walls, they were all shipped to my new home with the rest of my belongings." Bella didn't really want to involve the pack in this, she wasn't trying to get them into trouble but she wanted worry the Cullen's and what better way than to imply she was involved with a pack of wolves that might come tearing after her.

"The wolves are dangerous love, you shouldn't associate with them."

Bella laughed out loud at that.

"Edward you seem completely unable to grasp the fact that we are no longer together." She said cheerfully. "You conveniently ignore the fact that YOU LEFT ME and persist in the delusion that somehow we can work it out. So let me please make it very clear to you once and for all. Not even if hell freezes over will I be with you. Not if the survival of the entire universe depended on it would I take you back. I like men Edward and you are most definitely just an inexperienced boy."

Edward reached for her and had his hand around her throat, slamming her into the seat and making her gasp in fright. The car swerved to a halt and Carlisle jumped out to try and separate them.

Smirking with a perverse satisfaction Edward laughed coldly.

"You would do well to remember your place Bella. You are the weakest, most fragile being on the planet and are now completely at my mercy. You should speak with a little more respect."

"Well thank you for proving my point. You are a spoilt child who cannot handle being told no. Carlisle should have raised you better." She snapped back having recovered from her momentary shock. Adrenalin coursed through her. "Do not make the mistake of thinking I care what you threaten. I may be a fragile human but I am not weak. And whatever your reason for kidnapping me is. You have made a monumental mistake if you think I will ever help you. You should have left me alone like you promised because by taking me you have signed your own death warrant."

Edward released Bella slowly and backed away. Both he and Carlisle stared at her. She was too confident, too composed to doubt she meant every word she said.

"You are not going to destroy us Bella." Carlisle said in a chillingly calm voice that was almost a whisper as he got back into the driver's seat. It made Bella's blood run cold. The car started again and he drove never once looking back. "You are going to do exactly what we say or I will personally rip your mother's heart out and make you eat it. I will go and wipe out your entire little wolf pack's tribe so that there will never be another wolf born. No one expects you to be with Edward again. He failed in his task of controlling you so now it is my turn. And believe me when I say I can make your every second a living hell if I choose. I can keep you so drugged and confused you would believe nothing but my every word. I can keep you locked inside your mind to the point you would tear at your own skin to escape. Jasper may be an expert at physical torture but I am an expert in the mental equivalent. Do not test me child. You are important yes, but I will have your obedience if it costs you your sanity."

He looked at Bella through the mirror his eyes black and deadly. She didn't look away or flinch. His threats were very real and she had no doubt he could and would do everything he said but Bella knew Alistair was on his way she just had to survive until then. Nodding ever so slightly she looked away. She wasn't giving in just picking her battles more carefully. She needed them to think his threats had worked, that she was capitulating. She needed to try and be clever about this and hold her tongue.

"Yep that'll happen. Oh well." She mused.

"I won't try to escape or contact anyone, just keep that idiot away from me, especially at night. I don't want him watching me sleep again."

She looked into Carlisle's eyes again and tried hard to keep the hatred out of hers. He nodded once and turned to watch the road. Glancing quickly at Edward she saw him flinch and gasp. Whatever Carlisle was thinking was enough to scare him thoroughly. He looked at Bella with hard furious eyes. Biting back the urge to stick her tongue out at him she turned to look out of the window. A house was coming into view. It was the typical mansion she had expected it to be. Neatly manicured lawns and flowerbeds surrounding a pristine house. She knew the interior would be white, cold and clinical without a hint of personality. As the car rolled to a halt in front of the house the door opened and the family assembled on the porch.

Steeling herself for the next round she smirked as she got out of the car.

"Show time." She thought.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for all the reviews. **

**Enjoy.**

"_Show time." She thought._

Looking up at the assembled faces before her Bella observed none were happy or smiling. They looked uncertain as though they weren't sure which face to wear. Thinking ironically to the first time she had been in this position she realised it had all been a lie. They were simply very good actors. Well so was she now. She was going to mess with them as much as possible. She couldn't hold back the quiet chuckle that escaped.

Pasting a huge, warm smile on her face and pulling up a memory of her and Alistair making love, she allowed it to fill her with longing and lust. Knowing it would confuse the hell out of him, she walked up the stairs straight to Jasper and hugged him.

"Hi Jasper, how are you? I have missed you" She purred softly. Trailing her hand across his chest she kissed his cheek, lingering ever so slightly and then walked past a gobsmacked Alice, Emmett and Rosalie and into the house. She felt rather than saw him turn to watch her and so she put a little more wiggle into her walk knowing exactly where his eyes would be drawn and was very thankful she was wearing her skin tight blue jeans. She could hear growls from some of the vampires assembled, Edward she recognised but not the others.

"Men" she thought to herself, suppressing a giggle. Alistair had told her that vampire men think about sex more than human men, it crops up in almost every thought they have.

"Poor Edward" she thought sarcastically, she was going to torture him through the thoughts of the others.

"How are you Bella? It's so lovely to see you again." Alice said in her usual enthusiastic tone.

Bella turned slowly and smiled. Alice had obviously recovered first. Emmett was looking like he wanted to approach her. Rosalie was standing in front of him like a furious guardian. They didn't know what was happening. Was she here by choice?

"Time to set them straight." Bella mused.

"Well Alice I really wish I could say the same." Her voice was conversational and happy. "As for how I am. Well I am annoyed that I was practically knocked out and have been dragged here against my will. I am pissed that dickhead over there seems to think he can still call me "love". Oh and I am fucking sick to the back teeth of you pretending to be anything other than the controlling, manipulative, poisonous little freak you are." She did the finger speech marks over the "Love" and blew Alice a kiss at the end before turning to Carlisle how had quickly stepped in front of Alice to prevent any attack she may have wanted to launch.

"Carlisle can you point me in the direction of my room please. I really need a shower. Oh yes, could I also have some cream for my tattoo?" She asked in a cheery voice.

"Of course Bella dear." He replied carrying her bags and heading towards the stairs. He looked her straight in the eye and Bella was sure she saw a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Follow me. Do you need any help with the cream?"

"Thanks that would be great." Bella answered in a husky tone as she followed him up the stairs aware of Jaspers eyes on her arse. She had been momentarily taken aback by Carlisle's offer. But then again he had to know she was playing a game. Maybe he was trying to call her bluff, well he was in for a shock, she wasn't the shy, easy to blush virgin he remembered. She had done things with Alistair she was sure weren't legal. She would play along for now.

At the top of the stairs Carlisle turned back to his assembled family.

"Esme darling will you please fill the others in, while I help Bella."

He then turned and led Bella toward a bedroom door before standing aside so she could enter. Stepping inside she looked around the room she had been directed to. It was a nice large room with elegant furniture and a comfortable looking bed.

"Plenty of room to roll around in." She thought with I wistful smile.

Carlisle put her bags down and un-zipped them. He was looking at her with a dark, amused expression. His eyes roaming over her body in a lecherous manner. It made Bella's skin crawl but she fought not to show it, or let Jasper feel her revulsion. After pointing out the bathroom and wardrobe he asked her to sit so he could look at her head.

"It is healing well but be careful when you wash your hair or you will open it up again." He said.

"Well why don't you wash my hair in the sink then I can take a bath." She suggested sweetly. He looked at her as though she had lost her mind. But there was also something hopeful in his expression. Bella began to wonder if he wanted to seduce her.

"You are the one who will find it easier to resist my blood if it bleeds again." She answered his unspoken question. She knew she could ask him to lick it and heal it but she wouldn't do that but that thought made her want to vomit again. She would only ever willingly allow Alistair to do that.

He nodded his ascent and led her into the bathroom. She settled herself into the chair. Closing her eyes she allowed her mind to drift. Bella had decided that the best way to wind up the Cullen's was to play with Jasper. She could send him emotions and his thoughts would wind Edward up as well as piss Alice off. Their combined annoyance would affect Jasper so that he was pulled in different directions. Hopefully this would make him start to project and wind everybody up. But now she began to wonder if she could use Carlisle in a similar fashion. It was clear he wasn't unaffected by her. His thoughts were bound to upset Edward into a tantrum, and his feelings would get to Jasper. It was worth a shot, so with that in mind she summoned forth a memory of Alistair washing her hair and let it go while Carlisle washed hers. The hands were wrong, too cold and not the same size. They were gentle but not loving. She could work with it though.

As Carlisle washed her hair he was struck again by the differences in her. She had calmly walked into his house after her outburst in the car as though nothing had happened. Then to cap it all she walks up to Jasper and kisses him followed by her little speech to putting Alice in her place. Alice had been fuming, Jasper had been completely thrown but had watched her backside as she sashayed up the stairs. Even Carlisle could admit it was a very nice arse. Of course everyone saw where Jasper was looking which caused an eruption from Alice and Edward. This new Bella was toying with them and seemed quite good at the game.

Edward, Carlisle sighed as he thought of his son. What was he going to do with that boy? He seemed to think he could still have Bella, well that was impossible. She had made her feelings on that subject perfectly clear and no amount of venom or time would change them now. Carlisle was appalled by the stupidity and callousness he had displayed when he broke up with Bella. While Carlisle had agreed they needed to split up so she could pine for him, they also needed her to survive. Edward was going to be in for a world of hurt when Esme finished telling the others what he had done.

As he washed Bella's hair he was reminded for the first time in centuries of Clara. He quickly quashed that memory. None of the others knew of the girl who had claimed him as her mate. She had had luscious brunette locks like Bella and the sweetest voice he would ever hear, but she said her instincts drew her to him. He could never accept that. He wondered briefly what had happened to her. Was she still pining for him? Perhaps when all this was over he could.. No. He would not allow himself to consider that option. It would never happen.

Panicking suddenly he listened carefully to the arguments going on downstairs he knew Edward was getting his ass handed to him, as he well deserved. So Carlisle was re-assured Edward had missed his little lapse in thought. Looking down at Bella's relaxed face and closed eyes he wondered what it was about this girl that made him forget himself?

Once he had finished washing her hair he combed and braided it for carefully her.

"Thank you Carlisle that was very pleasant." Bella said huskily.

"Don't try your games on me Bella." He whispered in her ear. "I know you are messing with the others and that's fine, if they can't handle you then we are in trouble. But don't try your tricks with me or I may just make you make good on your hints and insinuations. Are you really ready to fuck a vampire?"

Bella thought carefully about how to answer. She just couldn't bring herself to deny Alistair.

"Been there, done that Carlisle and loved every moment of it." She turned her head quickly and kissed his cheek. "I'd like to take my bath now, unless of course you want to watch."

Rising she turned the taps on full and went to her cases to collect some things. She got her toiletries and I-pod. In a fit of mischief she deliberately didn't take her clothes into the bathroom. Carlisle stood for a moment, feeling torn, he desperately wanted to see how far she was prepared to take this course of action. But he knew that it would cause further problems with Edward so he simply smiled and left. But stopped at the bedroom door.

"Maybe next time Bella, when you are more healed." He said with a smirk.

"Only in your dreams Carlisle" she said under her breath.

Making sure her bedroom and bathroom doors were ajar she sank turned her I-pod onto her 'chillin' play list and sank into the hot water. Laying back she closed her eyes. For a while she just lay there letting the water ease the tension in her muscles and listening to the music. But then a song came on that she remembered playing while she and Alistair were making love. That, combined with the tension of the day was enough to make Bella feel in dire need of some release. Slowly moving her hand over her breast she squeezed gently while the other moved lower.

Down stairs Edward was getting a right royal bollocking. Rosalie and Emmett especially were furious when they heard how he had left her in the forest. But it was Jasper who got close to ripping him apart when they heard about Victoria.

"I told you. You fucking idiot. I told you. You never, NEVER, leave a mate alive to take revenge, there is nothing worse." Jasper raged at Edward. "But NO! You said there was no connection. Bella is right you are a fucking dickhead. Not only did you leave her in a way which nearly cost us her gift, but you misjudged so many situations because you think you are infallible. We could have lost her countless times. And now we may have a wolf pack searching for her if not the human authorities. You are a fool Edward. If this was my army I would kill you for what you have done."

Alice jumped forward at that point to restrain her mate. Even though she was furious with Edward she was also confused. Bella had shown no fear of Jasper, following the events of her birthday she should have been terrified, that had been the plan. But no she was happy, comfortable, had even come on to him and he had not been unaffected by her, then she had turned on Alice herself. This was not the Bella she remembered. That Bella would never have worn such tight clothes or flirted with another woman's husband. She had clearly changed and it made Alice nervous.

Jasper had been completely thrown when Bella had walked up to him smiling and projecting a massive amount of lust and longing. She had touched him in an intimate manner, only Alice did that. She had kissed him, she wanted him. He had to accept he wanted her to. Watching her walk up the stairs, her ass swaying in those tight jeans he had wanted her, desperately. Eddie of course had heard his thoughts and acted like the possessive jerk he was until Esme told them how Bella had rejected him and promised Carlisle she would behave if he kept Edward away from her. Jasper thought that was hilarious. Bella clearly wanted a man. Maybe he could be that man.

For Emmett and Rosalie it was different. Emmett had been the one to play the part of 'fun loving big brother.' He had nothing against Bella personally, she was simply a means to an end. He firmly believed Carlisle was right in his quest and would do anything to help. Emmett hoped that the new, improved Bella would decide to help because if they couldn't trust her she would have to die, they could never risk her getting into the wrong hands. Both he and Rosalie agreed she should have been turned instead of the family leaving. She may not have been cemented to Edwards side as Carlisle wished but she had loved the family enough tom stay anyway. Rose felt the same as her mate in that she didn't have anything against Bella. She didn't like the way Bella was behaving though. She was too cocky by far and that made Rosalie nervous.

Edward was standing in the middle of the room taking the bollocking he was getting from all sides. He knew he had messed things up, he now realised how close they had been to loosing Bella. He had been over confident and cocky. He wouldn't make that mistake again. He was barely listening to the berating he was receiving. It was the least he deserved. But hearing Jaspers thoughts on what he would like to do to Bella tipped him over the edge. Launching across the room Jasper sidestepped him easily and grabbed him by the throat before he could impact the wall. Carlisle chose that moment to come down stairs.

"Enough" he roared. "You are behaving like children. Yes Edward messed things up, but we have retrieved the situation. Bella is here and will behave as long as Edward stays away from her. You will all ensure this happens. We will give her a week to get accustomed to her surroundings and us then I will turn her. Once she is changing Jasper, you are in charge of her until you feel we have her under our control. NONE OF YOU will argue with him in front of Bella. Do I make myself clear."

They all nodded quickly. Jasper was looking forward to having Bella completely under his thumb.

"Bella claims to have a husband. Her mother is still alive and she has friends in La Push. We will use this to keep her under control." Turning to Jasper he added. "Don't under estimate her. She has changed. Do whatever you have to, to control her. Whatever it takes. I have complete faith in you son and will give you absolute control."

Jasper preened under Carlisle's praise. It was wonderful to hear he was finally being appreciated. Edward scoffed when he heard Jaspers thoughts but received a cuffing blow to the back of the head from Carlisle.

"You had your chance Edward and you let us all down. I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself and shut up. Or I may decide I have no use for you at all." He said savagely leaving Edward under no illusions as to his position within the family now.

"I think I should spend time with her over the next week. Get a feel for her emotional patterns. Try to find some weak spots." Jasper said questioningly.

"Very well" Carlisle replied. "You may take control of her training now. But remember she is human and should remain so for at least a week to acclimatise to us and her surroundings. She is not to be harmed in any way during that time."

"I will remember." Jasper promised.

At that moment all heads snapped in toward the stairs when they heard a soft moan coming from Bella's room. Edward moved towards the stairs but was wrestled outside by Emmett and Rosalie then dragged off hunting by Alice and Rosalie. Jasper used the confusion to shoot up the stairs. The emotions she was giving off drew him like a magnet. He couldn't stay away.

Standing outside Bella's room he gripped the door frame trying to stop himself from going in. He could hear the water lapping against the side of the bath rhythmically and getting faster. Her breathing was coming in short gasps and her heart was pounding. Faster and faster the water moved until in the mirror he saw her reflection arch out of the water, her head thrown back and biting her lip to stop the cry of release. Sated and relaxed she slumped back into the bath gasping air into her lungs and leaving Jasper fighting himself to remain standing outside her room. He would not allow himself to move forward but couldn't move back.

As the water got cold Bella lifted herself out of the bath and rubbed herself dry. She caught glimpses of Jasper in the mirror but refused to react to his presence. For this to work she needed to wind him up. The best way to do that, Bella figured was to ignore him for a moment then 'see' him. With the towel wrapped around her she walked into her bedroom to grab her clothes. Taking a deep breath and girding her loins for what she was about to do. She picked up her clothes in one hand and held them loosely at her side. With the other hand she reached up to where the towel was folded securely to her breasts and eased it free. Looking Jasper squarely in the eye she let the towel drop to the floor and stood holding his gaze for a second or more before she slowly turned and walked back into the bathroom closing the door behind her.

She heard the growl of frustration from Jasper as she leaned against the door to pull herself together. Her heart was in her mouth. She realised that could have gone so badly, she was shaking as she got dressed. She needed to think things through more. Perhaps it was a stupid idea to wind him up. But she also felt it was the best way to distract them all.

When she came out of the bathroom he was nowhere in sight. Bella found herself to be relieved and a little disappointed. After all she had just stripped for the bloke. Checking her reflection in the mirror she was happy with her look. Letting her hair down and pulling her collar up she was amazed her mark had gone un-noticed until now. Running her fingers lightly over it she could almost feel Alistair. He was coming for her she was certain. Not long now, the thought was a like a security blanket, keeping her warm and safe. Checking in the mirror again she made sure the mark was hidden. It was her secret weapon. She would show it when the time was right.

Emmett and Carlisle had reached Jasper just in time to stop him breaking the door down and charging into the bathroom to Bella. Carlisle had to smile. She was better at this than he had given her credit for. At this rate he would have all of his sons fighting over her in hours. Possibly him as well. He had to wonder what it was that drew his kind to her so.

Hearing her footsteps on the stairs he told Esme to get some food ready and told Jasper to pull himself together.

"Bella is not for you son. Don't let her come between you and Alice." He told the younger vampire in a sympathetic tone. "She is just playing with you. You'll get your chance to get your own back when she is turned."

Jasper listened to Carlisle and his words made sense but he wasn't going to get his own back on her, he was going to get her. If she was as powerful as Carlisle thought and he could seduce her to his side he would, with little or no care for Alice. He would be invincible with her beside him. Alice would never leave, he could have them both. The thought made his imagination conjure up all sorts of images. And she seemed to want him too, Bella would be his. He was certain.

Coming down stairs Bella heard scuffles in the front room, so she headed in the opposite direction. Entering the kitchen she saw Esme cooking.

"Carlisle asked me to make you some food dear." She said in a really genuine tone that made Bella look twice. Trying to make conversation Bella asked the first question that entered her head.

"How did you and Carlisle meet?"

"We met when I was a teenager. I had broken my leg and he treated me. He was such a wonderful doctor it healed remarkably quickly." Esme gushed.

Flashes of conversations with Alistair sprung into her mind. 'venom left in to control you' and 'pining away for the source' came to her.

"Did you miss him after that?" She asked quietly.

"Oh yes. I missed him terribly. But fortunately we met again later and he saved me. I was so lucky."

"Yes you were." Bella answered with a smile while feeling suddenly very sick. This could have been her with Edward if Alistair hadn't come along. No, she had already beaten his hold before that, Alistair said she clearly had. Bella felt desperately sorry for Esme and resolved that if she could help her, she would.

Carlisle entered the kitchen to hear the end of their conversation. He looked at Bella sharply.

"Doing as you are told includes not rocking the boat Bella. Stay out of things between Esme and myself." He said quietly while checking her head again. Esme just smiled at them happily. Bella felt nauseous. Carlisle seemed to have little or no care for her and Esme seemed accepting to everything that he did. Would Esme simply stand aside if she was to have sex with him? Bella couldn't help but wonder, not that she had any intention of having sex with Carlisle. Ever.

"Now let me see that tattoo."

Bella looked at him brandishing the tub of cream like a school boy given a prize. Behind him Emmett and Jasper lounged in the doorway. Both looked 'unsettled'. Not for the first time she wondered if playing her game was a good idea. But looking into Carlisle's face she decided to be brave like Alistair would expect and standing square on lifted her t-shirt all the way up. Then turning slightly and winking at Jasper she lifted her arm stretching herself and showed them all her tattoo.

As Carlisle rubbed the cream into her skin she moaned carefully. It did feel soothing, but not that good. She could see the others practically salivating while staring at her. Esme was too. Jasper must be projecting, so why wasn't she affected? Perhaps she did have a shield after all. Trying to concentrate on it, whatever IT was, some intangible feeling of safety. She tried to push it out over Esme. It made her very uncomfortable having Esme looking at her like that. After a moment she could tell it worked as Esme relaxed and went back to cooking.

"Wow" she thought. "I do have a gift."

"Do you have any other tattoos?" Emmett asked quietly when Carlisle had finished.

"Yeh, want to see it?" She stood and slowly, deliberately, unbuttoned her jeans, all the while staring into Emmett's rapidly darkening eyes. Opening the fly slightly she turned slowly and looked at him over her shoulder. Lowering the backside of her jeans she made sure to show them just enough of her thong panties along with the entire tattoo. Knowing they would see the finger mark bruises on her hips she smiled.

"Let's see what you make of these, boys." She thought cheekily.

Buttoning her jeans up and pulling her top down again.

"Men!" She thought again and chuckled quietly while, ignoring the raised eyebrows her laughter caused.

She looked at the black eyed males before her. The looks she was getting were un-nerving. She was suddenly very aware how prey felt when it realised it was being hunted. It was painfully obvious to Bella that she was prey.

"Breathe the free air" Carlisle said in a husky whisper.

"I intend to." She answered softly.


End file.
